Preparing the Winton Shire Council Annual Budget is a difficult process considering we have many competing priorities & challenges, and this year has been no different. If anything, it’s been made harder by the ever-increasing inflation figures and the National Housing and Health Crisis that have applied financial pressures upon all levels of Government. Council took all the challenges facing our community into consideration when preparing the budget and have done a great job in delivering a balanced and responsible budget. This budget has a heavy focus on maintaining our workforce and delivering a Capital Works Program that’s achievable, while continuing to upgrade ageing infrastructure.
The Budget for 23/24 will comprise a total revenue of $39.822m (including grants) and an anticipated expenditure of $26.084m. The budget should have a net operating surplus of $13.737m, with the Capital works Program to come in at $24.805m and depreciation will be $5.408m.
When preparing the budget, a major challenge is our small rate base and the limited opportunities to generate revenue, while being considerate of essential services to the community, and maintaining security for our workforce. Another challenge is the ever-increasing costs to deliver Services and Capital Works Projects. Across the state, according to Local Government Association of Queensland (LGAQ) Data, Council’s costs will rise approximately 4.7% to operate “Business as Usual” in the 23/34 Financial Year. With this in mind, Council has decided to raise the Rates and Utility charges by 3%. This is a lower rate rise than most communities in Queensland and well below current inflation rates. While increasing rates have an impact on all landowners in our shire the lowest rate increase will be $20.45/annum. The 15% discount for rates paid on or before the due date has been retained with interest on overdue rates now being 11.64%.
Council will continue to grant a rebate of rates and charges to pensioners who hold a Queensland pensioner concession card, for land owned and permanently occupied by the pensioner. The amount of the “pensioner” rates and charges rebate, offered by council, will rise to $300 per annum which brings the total rebate, including the State Governments contribution, to $500. This budget has maintained a focus on our elderly residence with the continued upgrade of footpaths and crossovers for easy access to pathways when crossing the road. There will also be an electrical upgrade at Diamantina Gardens and the continued renovation of units. We’re also developing an “Aged Care Strategy” to evaluate the liveability in our community for aged residents. This will be an all-encompassing document from living unassisted in our community to high care needs in the MPHS and everything in between.
Rates and Utility Charges make up approximately 11% of our total budget with grants and funding contributing most of the income. The grants & funding is essential in assisting Council to remain sustainable and helps maintain the operational arm of Council. A significant amount of operational expenditure goes into delivering and maintaining services that, over the years, have been cost shifted to Council from State and Federal Governments, such as;
- Airports
- Child Care
- Community Care Packages
- Sport & Rec
- Stock Routes
- Pests & Weeds
- Biosecurity, to name a few.
We believe that delivering these services and many others, maintains the liveability of our community for all ages. While Council would never consider not supplying essential community services, cost shifting from both levels of government has put undue pressure on our bottom line.
The Capital Works Program this financial year totals $26m with a large portion being road projects throughout the shire. This portion of the budget was once again challenging, with the many projects Council wants to achieve for the Winton community. When deciding on what projects to complete during this financial year, we weighed up the needs versus wants and the capacity we have in the community to complete these works. It’s been evident since COVID hit our shores that we’ve had challenges in completing our Capital Works Program and have taken this onboard for the 23/24 Budget. We have reduced the number of projects by approximately 50% to make the deliverables achievable. With the hope of receiving funding throughout the year, and the prospect of completing the Capital Works Program, we’ll have a list of shovel ready projects ready to proceed with.
A lot of work goes into preparing a budget, especially in these challenging times. Not everyone is going to agree with the approach Council takes and the decisions made to finalise this budget but be rest assured that every decision made, by Council, is to make Winton a community that people enjoy living and working in.
I would like to thank Councillors, the CEO, and staff of Winton Shire Council for their efforts and hard work in bring this budget together.
The full budget can be viewed at www.winton.qld.gov.au
Cr Gavin Baskett
MAYOR