Priorities announced for city spending

THE City of Ballarat’s draft budget for 2023/24 has been revealed.

With a nearly $130 million capital program with a focus on incomplete works, mayor Cr Des Hudson said getting things done on unfinished projects is a key priority in municipal spending.

“We’ve been really disciplined about saying let’s not be focused on any brand-new projects, let’s make sure we can clear some of that backlog over our last 18 months,” he said.

“We’re in an environment now where inflation is rising at such a high level, if we don’t get on and finish those projects, what we’ll see is further cost escalation.”

Established projects to be completed under the budget would include the Bridge Mall redevelopment at $10 million, nearly $10 million for reconstruction of Her Majesty’s Theatre and more than $2 million to upgrade the Ballarat Airport runway.

Cr Hudson said the budget has been shaped through community consultation throughout the year, with feedback highlighting the need to maintain environmental sustainability, which was also a key theme in last financial year’s budget.

Nearly $1.8 million would be allocated to drainage projects like the Ballarat Stormwater Network Optimisation Plan and Urban Forest program.

Municipal staff are aiming for no new loan borrowings in delivering on the budget, with support instead arriving in the form of a 3.5 per cent average rate increase in line with the State Government rate cap.

City of Ballarat CEO Evan King said the rate increase is necessary to deliver key services.

“If you look at those in the inflationary environment, we’ve got inflation money at 7.8 per cent,” he said. “To be honest, many of our costs are going up at a far greater rate than that.

“It’s a difficult environment and we certainly understand it’s a difficult environment for everyone. We certainly don’t put forward a 3.5 per cent increase in rates without serious consideration.

“We’ve also got to understand the benefit of that 3.5 per cent generates. We’re able to deliver 80 different services and 120 different capital projects.”