Record low rate rise proposed in Draft Budget

Published on 15 May 2015

Mildura Rural City Council is proposing its lowest rate rise in more than a decade.

Council released its Draft Budget this afternoon, with a recommendation to increase rates by 3.9% in the 2015/16 Financial Year. This follows an increase of 4.5% in 2014/15, 5% in 2013/14 and 6% in 2012/13.

Mayor Glenn Milne said careful financial management and sound planning had enabled the organisation to deliver its lowest rate rise in more than ten years.

“Putting the Draft Budget together is always a sensitive balancing act. We take considerable time and effort to ensure Council can continue to provide appropriate services and facilities while taking into account the community’s needs and their capacity to pay,” Cr Milne said.

Council’s 2015/16 Draft Budget outlines how the organisation will invest $108.9 million to deliver community services, infrastructure and projects over the next twelve months.

The Draft Budget includes a $34.6 million capital works program, designed to replace, maintain and improve infrastructure and facilities around the region.

Key Draft Budget highlights include $7.05 million to continue the Mildura Riverfront Precinct Redevelopment, $11.8 million to upgrade the region’s extensive network of sealed and unsealed roads, footpaths, kerb and channel, school crossings and walking tracks, $2.7 million for drainage infrastructure and $1.5 million for parks, playgrounds and trees.

“Our municipality faces significant challenges that make balancing a Council budget quite difficult,” Cr Milne said.

“Mildura Rural City comprises nearly 10% of Victoria; we have low population density which means there are less ratepayers to share the cost burden, we also have a high level of infrastructure and population dispersion across a very large geographical area which means it costs more to provide services and we are relatively isolated which also increases the costs of providing what we do.

“Despite these very significant challenges we have managed to consistently reduce the amount by which rates are increasing over time. We have managed to do this despite considerably reduced revenue through the freezing of federal grant schemes, imposition of State Government levies and cost shifting.

“The cost of what Local Government provides is driven by increasing costs of materials and wages and therefore continues to increase at a greater rate than CPI.  However, we will continue to undertake our rolling review of operations to ensure Council is providing services and infrastructure to our community in the most cost-effective manner possible.”

Council will also host a community briefing on the Draft Budget to give the public an opportunity to learn more about what it contains. The community briefing will be held at 6pm on Wednesday 27 May in the Benetook Room, at the Alfred Deakin Centre, corner Deakin Avenue and Twelfth Street, Mildura.