Please note: this is an archived news article release

This article was published on Thursday, 22 June, 2017. The information contained within may be out of date or inaccurate. News articles and media releases older than 60 days are archived for future reference.

2017/2018 Council Budget approved at Council meeting

The 2017/2018 Budget adopted a two per cent increase in rates revenue and two per cent in kerbside collection charges which will generate $73.46 million, excluding supplementary valuations. The proposed rating structure for 2017/2018 has been informed by the Rating Strategy 2017-2021 which was also adopted at this meeting.

The 2017/2018 Schedule of Fees and Charges is budgeted that the adopted fees and charges will raise $23.42 million during the 2017/2018 financial year.

The 2017/2018 Budget provides for a $39.38 million capital works program. Incorporated in the capital works program is $25.36 million for renewal works and $7.95 million for new works.

Funding sources for the capital works program include $24.61 million from Council revenue, cash reserves and investments and $8.76 million from external grants and cash contributions. $6.0 million in borrowings is proposed in the 2017/2018 Budget to fund capital works at Cosgrove 3 Landfill.

The 2017/2018 Draft Budget was endorsed by Council on 18 April 2017. Public notice was given on 21 April 2017 and submissions invited. The submission period ended on 19 May 2017 and 38 submissions were received. Five of the written submitters elected to be heard at a Special Council Meeting on 6 June 2017.

Greater Shepparton City Council Mayor Dinny Adem said “The submissions we received show that these projects are very important to the community and we have some very passionate members of the public working hard on behalf of their community. Regardless of the outcome, everyone should be very proud of their efforts in preparing their submission and presenting to Council, which can be daunting. This key process shows that Council listens to our residents and we can work together for mutually beneficial outcomes. Thank you to all who either made a submission or presented to Council.”

“What was presented for adoption was a financially responsible budget which achieves a balance between wants and needs in order to efficiently manage our resources and provide high quality services and infrastructure to our community” said Cr Adem.

The submissions ranged in content however generally contained the following themes:

Support for the funding of the Australian Botanic Gardens (16 submissions)
Shepparton Show Me budget allocation (7 submission)
Feedback on the Maude Street Mall activation (2 submissions)
Tatura Museum Extension (2 submissions)
Mactier Park Tatura (2 submissions)
Shepparton Airport (2 submissions)
Locky’s Bridge (1 submission)

Greater Shepparton City Council Director Corporate Services Chris Teitzel said that in simple terms the budget can be broken down into two main areas, how much we plan on spending and how much income we need to fund this spending.

“The spending is made of two components, the operating budget and the capital budget. The operating budget tells you what it costs to run the Council every year and the capital budget includes physical infrastructure, buildings and operational assets as well as funding proposals for these projects,” said Mr Teitzel.

To learn more about our rating system, check out the videos in the Rates section of our website, which explain these concepts in an easy to understand way.

Download the Budget here.