Breakdown on City’s budget

Like most organisations, the last two years threw multiple budgeting challenges at the City of Greater Geelong.

Council adopted seven COVID-19 support packages over 2020 and 2021, worth an estimated $19 million, to assist businesses, community groups and residents impacted by the pandemic.

We could see that the community was struggling with this unprecedented crisis and wanted to provide practical support through a range of measures.

These included fee waivers for businesses, rent waivers for community and sporting tenants of City-owned grounds/buildings, arts and culture skills and training, and free two-hour parking in Central Geelong.

Initiatives such as our Geelong Business Concierge Service, Business Support Portal, quick response grants for community groups, and arts and culture recovery opportunities continue.

Council is proud to have supported the community during such an uncertain time.

This vital funding, coupled with the closure of council facilities during lockdowns and other factors from COVID-19, affected the organisation’s bottom line.

Recently, council held a special meeting outside of our usual monthly meeting schedule.

We considered the City’s financial results for 2021-22, which as chair of the Finance portfolio and a registered accountant, I found to be highly enjoyable!

After two years of deficits, the City returned to a $10.6 million operating surplus last financial year.

The operating result is ahead of the budgeted deficit, and has been largely driven by the organisation receiving $7.65 million in Commonwealth Grants Commission funding earlier than expected.

Another factor that has contributed to the result is under-budget staffing costs of $7.3 million.

The Annual Financial Report is always a good opportunity to review what and where capital works funding was spent.

Council invested a record $195.7 million in capital works during 2021-22 on libraries, trees, footpaths, sporting grounds, community and arts hubs, LED street lighting, shared trails and more.

That includes $32 million on parks and public open space and $24.8 million on roads.

Investment extended to new swim facilities, with construction starting on the Northern Aquatic and Community Hub in Norlane ($5.2 million) and North Bellarine Aquatic Centre in Drysdale ($2.5 million).

As a Windermere councillor, I’m particularly thrilled about this facility in the north getting underway as it’s been a long time coming.

The finished product is expected to deliver $111 million in preventative health benefits during its first 10 years of operation!

Council invested $2.5 million to complete the new pavilion and change facilities at Hume Reserve in Bell Park and $1.5 million on sports lighting upgrades at reserves across the region.

Construction work also kicked off on the striking new Drysdale Library, with a $2.4 million investment in 2021-22 ($8.656 million total over four years, alongside a $1 million Living Libraries Infrastructure Program grant from the Victorian Government).

The new and improved Leisurelink in Waurn Ponds is being well utilised after its $6.8 million upgrade.

This facility revamp is the perfect example of how council is progressively increasing our annual spend on renewing existing assets (worth $4.2 billion), such as footpaths, roads and community facilities, over the next 10 years.

Building new facilities remains vital to meeting population demands, but this evidence-based strategy also ensures that the community has equal access to infrastructure and services, regardless of where they live.

This of course comes with significant financial challenges as our region grows, on top of a recent rapid escalation of costs across many aspects of the economy and supply chain issues.

The City’s comprehensive result was boosted by $80 million worth of new drainage, roads and footpaths that developers gifted to the City from our urban growth areas.

These assets are welcomed by residents, but they do add to our responsibilities and place further pressure on future budgets to maintain them.

A further $29.3 million was from developer cash contributions, which will be invested back into community facilities in the near future, and $17.8 million was from capital grants.

Getting back in the black is positive and complex,and reflects responsible management of funds.

Council will continue to embed sustainability into every financial decision over the coming years.

We must remain financially sustainable, so that we can keep delivering more than 130 services for the community.

Cr Anthony Aitken