Coker among almost 1,000 city budget commenters

A FEDERAL MP has weighed in on the City of Greater Geelong’s proposed 2023/24 budget as one of almost 1,000 public submissions the city received.

Corangamite federal member Libby Coker presented to the city’s submissions hearings last week to voice her disappointment at Geelong’s “dire financial situation”.

“It’s unacceptable that significant financial cuts are occurring across arrange of council services and facilities with little or no consultation with the community it serves,” she said.

Ms Coker said the council should “outline a considered, compassionate and sophisticated approach to addressing the financial situation”.

She said that approach would include definitive timelines for shelved projects, conduct an independent review alongside neighbouring councils of its decision to pull out of the G21 Regional Alliance, negotiate an amicable solution to the funding dispute with the Geelong Regional Libraries Corporation and provide further information about staff that will be impacted by job losses.

The draft budget has also drawn criticism from state MPs in recent weeks, with Labor politicians Darren Cheeseman and Christine Couzens among those supporting community causes stemming budget concerns.

In total, the city received 956 public submissions to its proposed 2023/24 budget during its consultation period, which lasted four weeks after its release in late-April.

This year’s figure was almost 10 times higher than the 97 responses the city reported for last year’s budget.

It added an extra night of public submissions hearings last week following the volume of feedback.

Library funding was by far the most prevalent issue among submitters, with 537 submissions addressing the topic.

A proposal to withdraw funding to keep Kardinia Pool open during winter (132 submissions), cancellation of a drainage upgrade at Kyema Drive, Lara (44) and funding for a footpath leading to Mount Duneed Primary School (31) were also high on the agenda.

The city will consider submissions received ahead of its final decision on the budget on June 27.