Mayor's Message 17 May 2024

Hello everyone,

On Tuesday night, Council endorsed the Draft 2024/25 Budget, which is now on public exhibition.

This means that the community now has until Tuesday 4 June to review the draft document to see that it meets your expectations. In particular, we want to check that it reflects what we heard from those who participated in our pre-budget survey, and this was a clear desire for prioritised spending on maintaining and enhancing existing infrastructure, such as roads, drains, footpaths and community buildings, as well as a strong emphasis on promoting community well-being.

To this end, we’re proposing to spend more than $4M on roads, bridges, footpaths, drainage, community facilities and council buildings. This is part of a huge $18.7M capital works program, of which $11.6M is being carried forward from the current budget to complete projects already approved. While rates and municipal charges will increase by 2.75%, there will be a reduction in the cost of kerbside bin collection, as we will be passing on savings from our new waste contract directly to our ratepayers.

Considering the many challenges we face in delivering a balanced budget, we believe this budget reflects prudent financial management, which will ensure our long-term financial sustainability, while meeting our community’s needs.

I strongly encourage you to take a look. You’ll read further on in this edition about how to make a submission, should you wish to do so.

This afternoon I had the pleasure of addressing a gathering at the historic Beechworth courthouse to celebrate IDAHOBIT (International Day Against LGBTQIA+ Discrimination).

I’m proud of the leadership Council demonstrates in not only celebrating this day each year on 17 May, but in supporting and promoting a culture where everyone feels included and safe, every day of the year. While there’s still much to be done to combat discrimination, I write this feeling buoyed and hopeful that if the support and solidarity demonstrated by our community today is anything to go by, together, we can build a world without discrimination and a brighter future for our families, friends, colleagues, neighbours and visitors.

Thank you to everyone that joined us.

Have a great weekend,

Cr Sophie Price.