By Lachlan Ellis<\/p>\n
Moorabool Shire Council has passed its Budget for the 2023\/24 financial year, after a motion to defer its consideration was narrowly lost.<\/p>\n
Cr Tom Sullivan moved to defer the 2023\/24 Budget \u201cfor a couple of weeks\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cCould this matter be deferred for a while, for about a week or so? I think some of the responses I received back, I sense were inadequate. I\u2019m asking could a couple of weeks be given\u2026the reason I say that is because I did raise some matters with the CEO, and I don\u2019t think we\u2019ve received adequate responses to some of these matters.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019d like it to be thrashed out a bit more before that time\u2026I think there has been a bit of haste in this process, not timewise, but material-wise.\u201d<\/p>\n
Cr David Edwards asked which matters specifically Cr Sullivan wanted further clarification on.<\/p>\n
\u201cWell, there was the matters of Council reserves, there were some questions over that I don\u2019t think were adequately responded to. There were also matters about a different rating model, we got a very short response to that I don\u2019t think was done in depth,\u201d Cr Sullivan said.<\/p>\n
The motion to defer the adoption of the Budget was seconded by Cr Paul Tatchell and supported by Cr Ally Munari, with Crs Edwards, Tonia Dudzik, and Moira Berry voting against to make the vote 3 \u2013 3.<\/p>\n
With the deciding vote, Mayor Cr Rod Ward voted against the motion to defer the adoption of the Budget.<\/p>\n
With that, the recommendation to approve the 2023\/24 Budget was moved by Cr Edwards and seconded by Cr Dudzik.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think we\u2019ve had quite a significant amount of briefings on the Budget, it goes over a long period of time. As for the rating strategy, we do that in significant depth each year. But more important, I think this particular Budget provides a fair and equitable Budget. It\u2019s a relatively safe Budget, which I think is really important in these risky times,\u201d Cr Edwards said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is actually well below what the CPI is. Unfortunately, we\u2019re in a rate cap environment, and I think we will see some long-term detriment because of this.\u201d<\/p>\n
Cr Sullivan agreed that the Budget was a safe one in terms of works proposed, but voiced his opposition to the rating strategy in particular.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy issue is that once again, it is not a fair and equitable rating strategy that we employ to gain the funds to do that [complete works]. I know it\u2019ll be said that \u2018oh, well that\u2019s because of the valuations\u2019. I recognise that the valuations are something that is beyond our control\u2026once again we have a situation where one section of this community is going to be hit by a 14 to 16 per cent rate increase,\u201d Cr Sullivan said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe do have levers to be able to change that. There are certain things that are a given, valuations are one, but we do have opportunities to use the levers at Council with differentials to actually do that.\u201d<\/p>\n
Cr Dudzik spoke of the \u201csubstantial work put in by Council officers to deliver important projects to the community\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t think it\u2019s right to try at the last minute to try and change the rating strategy. That\u2019s something that takes months of preparation and work\u2026we have discussed rating categories and strategies in the past and haven\u2019t come up with a better option,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s unusual, it does say in this Budget that 50 per cent of farm properties will actually get a rate decrease.\u201d<\/p>\n
Cr Tatchell voiced his agreement with Cr Sullivan\u2019s comments.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have a privilege here, so does all government, to distribute funds from the public. It\u2019s a privilege, not a right\u2026we can have a fair Budget in terms of how it\u2019s distributed, but the thing that always gets left out is, how do we raise the money? That is sort of where the fairness stops,\u201d Cr Tatchell said.<\/p>\n
In the end, Crs Edwards, Dudzik, Berry, and Ward voted in favour of passing the budget, and Crs Sullivan, Munari, and Tatchell voted against \u2013 thus, the Budget was passed.<\/p>\n
The Capital Improvement Program for 2023\/24 is $56.413 million (including $15 million in works carried forward from 2022\/23). Of this, $41.591 million relates to new work, $12.282 million relates to renewal of assets and $2.54 million is for the upgrade of assets.<\/p>\n
To view the 2023\/2024 Budget in full, head to www.moorabool.vic.gov.au and search \u2018budget\u2019.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
By Lachlan Ellis Moorabool Shire Council has passed its Budget for the 2023\/24 financial year, after a motion to defer its consideration was narrowly lost. Cr Tom Sullivan moved to defer the 2023\/24 Budget \u201cfor a couple of weeks\u201d. \u201cCould this matter be deferred for a while, for about a week or so? I think […]<\/p>\n