Council Budget available for community feedback

Have we got our budget right? 

 

We’re calling on our community to give us feedback around our Draft Budget which highlights priorities for the year ahead along with a focus on core services and programs. 

 

Council’s Draft Budget, available to view at Draft Budget 2024-25 | Shaping Yarra Ranges, outlines every service and program of Council and how it will be funded for the coming year. Feedback is open until 19 May 2024.  

 

Yarra Ranges Mayor, Sophie Todorov said that focussing on core services and delivering the essentials is the highest priority for this year’s budget.   

 

“We have heard from some members of our community that fixing the drains is a key issue. This is work that takes some time to manage and so we’ve made a commitment to spend $16.2 million over the next six years in capital investment and related infrastructure upgrades across the municipality.  

 

“We understand that times are tough for our community and Council is also facing some difficult financial decisions due to increasing costs, decreasing grants and assisting our community with their day-to-day costs.  

 

“This is why we will be applying the State Government’s rate cap of 2.75 per cent for the 2024-25 financial year, which will allow us to continue delivering our services and our capital works projects efficiently. 

 

“Our Budget is created on behalf of, with the assistance of and for our communities over 55 towns. It’s one of our most important documents, and so community feedback is critical when we put it together,” she said.  

 

“Recently the message has been loud and clear, that people want a strong focus on infrastructure such as roads, footpaths and drainage, to look after existing assets.  

 

“We’ve been mindful of balancing these priorities and the constrained financial environment we find ourselves in. Like our residents, costs have increased and we’re seeing a massive jump in our construction and insurance costs by about 30%.  

 

“We’ve also seen cuts from other levels of government, most notably the Federal Government’s decision to cut more than $100 million from the Roads for the Community Initiative.  

 

“This devastating cut resulted in more than 403 roads across the Yarra Ranges unable to be sealed impacting more than 5,200 properties  

 

“What this means is that cuts need to be made elsewhere to make sure that we’re fiscally responsible and so we’re not able to invest in those larger projects right now.  

 

“To deal with these financial pressures, Council is also looking at ways we can raise revenue such as improving the way we hire out Council facilities,” said Cr Todorov.  

 

*Note - these projects include external funding

 

"Protecting our environment is also high on the list this year as we invest in delivering the Nature Plan 2024-2034. Council has a broad role to play in the management of the natural environment, along with supporting community to increase their environmental stewardship, it works to build resilience against a changing climate. 

 

“We’re doing all of this while continuing to deliver more than 120 services – everything from libraries to pools, immunisations to planning permits, health inspections to footpath works - in one of the largest and most diverse Local Government Areas in Victoria, with 55 individual townships in the region.   

 

“I strongly encourage community members to have a read through the budget, look at what we have planned for the year, and share their feedback with us before 19 May."   

 

“There aren’t many flashy projects in this year’s budget – we’ve held or reduced our investment level in several areas to ensure that we can continue to provide services and maintain our important infrastructure, to meet our priorities but balance spending in a tight financial environment,” said Cr Todorov.