Council adopts next budget

MAINTAINING essential services and investing in infrastructure are major focuses of the budget Golden Plains Shire Council adopted last month.

The budget features a 2.75 per cent rate cap, $61.4m for service delivery and $14.6m investment in capital assets, including infrastructure.

It features an operating surplus of $1.9m, with an overall adjusted underlying deficit of $6.7m.

“Our 2026–27 budget delivers a responsible and sustainable plan for our community, despite the significant financial pressures facing councils across Victoria,” Golden Plains mayor Cr Owen Sharkey said.

“We have worked hard to maintain essential services and continue investing in important infrastructure, even as rising costs outpace the 2.75 per cent rate cap.”

Cr Sharkey said the budget reflected priorities residents shared with the council through submissions, surveys and workshops.

“Their feedback directly shaped the decisions we’ve made,” he said. “We have ensured that key projects and core services remain protected.

“Every effort has been made to balance rising costs with the need to maintain service levels. Delivering a financially responsible budget is essential for the long-term sustainability of our shire.”

The continuing rise in operating and construction costs have been highlighted as placing pressure and difficult decisions on councils.

The waste management fee is $497 per property; windfarm income was $2.3m; $7m of the $14.6m capital works program would be used to renew community assets, with a focus on the shire’s road and bridge network.

A total of $900,000 would be used for road resealing, $670,000 to road improvements, a $2.54m Roads to Recovery federal government grant for road projects, $700,000 for gravel resheeting, $300,000 to footpaths and cycleways, $350,000 for bridge renewals, and $2.4m to the replacement of Russells Bridge.

A sum of $1.75m would also be used for the Teesdale Female Friendly Changerooms Project.