Campaspe Shire Mayor Adrian Weston said the budget was the organisation’s leading financial blueprint for the delivery of services, programs and initiatives for the financial year ahead.
“Council released the draft budget in April for community feedback, with submissions closing late May,” he said.
“Sixty-two submissions were received to the budget with seven electing to speak at the June 2 submission hearing.
“Of the submissions, 46 sought funding to support construction of the Murchison to Rushworth Rail Trail; 12 related to infrastructure projects including roads, shared paths, playgrounds and drainage; one related to the distribution of rates; one related to parking fees; one sought clarification on a range of services and capital projects outlined in the document; and one provided no comment on the budget itself.”
All submitters will be provided with a written response to the issue raised in their submission.
The adopted budget includes the following changes:
● The rates table has been updated after receiving certification of the 2020 general property valuation from the Victorian Valuer General. This resulted in a minor change to the rate in the dollar in each of the rating categories;
● The loan borrowings have been reduced by $38,000 to reflect deferring the draw-down of loan funds to June 2021;
● Waste service revenue has been revised to reflect the actual number of services provided;
● An additional charter fee has been included in the fees and charges for chartering the PS Alexander Arbuthnot in recognition of the reduced passenger numbers permitted on the vessel; and
● A number of corrections to spelling, grammar and formatting have also been made.
In adopting the budget, the council recognised the document will need to be revised once the impact of COVID-19 and the exit from aged and disability services from July 1 can be more accurately quantified.
“The draft budget was developed prior to the Federal Government’s announcement on who had been selected to provide aged and disability services,” Cr Weston said.
“The adopted budget reflects the full cost of delivering these services and once the impact of exiting the service is confirmed, a revised budget will be developed capturing the costs of the remaining services.”
The budget details the 56 projects in the $24.4 million Capital Works Program as well as listing all fees and charges across all service areas.
The 2020-21 budget document is available on Campaspe Shire Council’s website at campaspe.vic.gov.au
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