To date, this council has been proud of its unity, as shown in the many unanimous votes delivered in the council chamber on Wednesday nights. However, this budget is set to be a major test of that unity.
Rates and Rubbish Charges Are Up 3% and 13%
The budget is based on an increase of 3.0 percent to the average general rate, the maximum allowed under the state rate cap. This is accompanied by an increase in the Default Waste Charge of 13.1 percent, rising from $203.60 to $230.30. Other fees and charges are set to rise by 3.15 percent.
On the plus side, the budget has no debt (except for lease charges), some efficiency savings, and a modest $0.52 million cash surplus. There is also a capital investment of $75 million, but this a reduction of $31.6 million from the previous year.
Some Tantalizing Details Revealed
While much of the budget varies little from year to year, each new budget invariably has its winners and, shall we say, others. Here is a selection of items specified in the budget summary:
– St Kilda Festival is cut by $450K as money is shifted elsewhere in the arts.
– An additional $250K to fund activities addressing loneliness and isolation, social connection, and combating discrimination and racism and antisemitism, including:
– $43K extra for South Port Day Links, employing a volunteer coordinator
– $60K to fast track the delivery of the Multicultural Strategy
– $250K ongoing budget to fund new actions arising from the community safety roundtable and the community safety plan
– An extra $200K ongoing budget for increased street cleaning and pressure washing of main streets
– An additional $400K ($100K ongoing) to improve urban forest precinct plans
– Reinstating $15K per annum funding for Friends of Suai until the end of the friendship in 2030
– An ongoing $9K per annum for Wild at Heart (a song writing therapy program).
There is also a heavily qualified provisional one-off allocation of $1.2 million for affordable housing, pending the development of the updated housing and homelessness strategy.
TWiSK wonders why some of these items are not covered in the other grant budgets – why are they listed in the papers up front? Are they included to signal virtue or distract from the broader details, or are they evidence of ‘horse trading’ behind closed doors?
Next Steps
Public consultation will take place from 17 April 2025 to 18 May 2025.
Feedback and submissions from the public at a Special Meeting of Council on 13 May 2025.
The council will vote at a Special Meeting of Council on 23 June 2025.
TWiSK welcomes reasoned and civil comment from readers on the budget, no more than 200 words please. Must be published under your name. Email Greg Day
