Ballarat council delays budget okay

A FINAL decision on the City of Ballarat 2020/21 budget has been held over by two weeks.

Originally set for a final decision on 24 June, the thumbs up – or down, was postponed until 8 July.

The decision came after a special meeting last week to hear community input on the financial plan.

An unattributed statement released by the municipality shortly after that meeting said the delay was “to fully consider the submissions heard.”

However, the next day mayor Cr Ben Taylor gave a different reason relating to the recent appointment of interim CEO Janet Dore.

“The new CEO’s come on board, here’s an opportunity for the CEO to work with council with that budget,” he said.

“We had the discussion with the CEO before hand around her views on the budget. She hasn’t had a chance to review it in detail.”

Cr Taylor also said not having an approved budget by the start of the financial year would not be a problem.

“There will be no issues in relation to that extra two weeks,” he said.