Hello everyone,
This week, Councillors and the Executive Team held a full-day workshop to discuss the upcoming draft 2024/25 budget.
We started the day by reviewing the feedback received from our pre-budget engagement. While fewer people participated in the engagement opportunity compared with previous years, the feedback was consistent with what we’ve heard previously.
Respondents ranked roads, community facilities, drainage, parks, playgrounds and open space as the top priorities for council investment.
Community wellbeing and environmental management were considered the most important for a thriving community. We also reviewed the proposed capital works program, fees and charges and delivery of core services.
Over the next few weeks, we will fine-tune the draft budget, which will be tabled at the May Council meeting. It will then be placed on public exhibition to allow our community to review the documents and make a formal submission.
For those who provided input into the draft budget, we greatly appreciate you taking the time and sharing your feedback. We do take all feedback into consideration and we’re acutely aware of the community’s desire for sufficient money to be spent on repairing our roads. To that end we are forecasting to spend $3.6M on flood damage repairs in total this year and next financial year.
Developing the budget is a major balancing act, and despite increasing external costs and limitations on generating additional income, we remain financially sustainable and will submit a break-even budget to the Council for it to consider at the May meeting.
I look forward to sharing more about the draft budget in future editions of YOUR INDIGO.
Take care,
Cr Sophie Price.