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Public feedback sought on City’s draft budget and planLatrobe City Council voted to release its draft budget for consultation at its meeting on Monday night. By Latrobe City Council - 16th May 2006 - Back to News Latrobe City Council voted to release its draft budget for consultation at its meeting on Monday night, initiating a four week period in which the public is encouraged to provide feedback and make submissions before the draft budget is considered for adoption.
Latrobe City’s acting mayor, Cr Bruce Lougheed, urged the community to examine the draft budget together with council’s four-year plan, and provide a response during the next four weeks.
While the draft budget identifies income and expenditure for the 2006/2007 financial year, council’s four-year plan projects resource income and allocation over a four year period, linking the financial year budget and ‘Latrobe 2021: The vision for Latrobe Valley’.
Cr Lougheed said Latrobe City has made the deliberate decision to provide the community with a much longer period than the two-week statutory requirement to make submissions to council on budget matters, prior to council considering the draft budget for adoption.
"The draft budget and council’s four-year plan are both now available for perusal on council’s website and are available from council’s service centres. I urge our community to examine the proposals and provide input into the budgetary process. Council values the opinion of the community and will take all submissions, favourable and unfavourable, into account when it comes time for council to make its decision on the budget’s adoption," Cr Lougheed said.
Latrobe City’s 2006/2007 draft budget will continue the trend set in the 2005/2006 year with substantial investments being made on capital works across the municipality.
Latrobe City’s acting chief executive officer, Philip Marsh, said council’s 2006/2007 budget emphasises expenditure as an investment in the liveability and sustainability of the municipality.
$26 million has been earmarked for projects including a $30,000 upgrade to the Yallourn North outdoor pool, $400,000 for improvements to the Churchill Road and Princes Drive intersection, and $90,000 for the access for all playground at Moe’s Apex Park.
Spending is being directed across Latrobe City at improving and maintaining infrastructure such as $252,000 on drainage, $1.6m for footpaths and cycleways, and $10.2m on infrastructure maintenance. There will be substantial spending on library resources, waste collection and children’s services.
"This budget continues the good work already undertaken," Mr Marsh said.
Latrobe City’s overall rate rise will be 5%, as predicted in council’s five-year rates strategy. The draft budget proposes the current garbage charge be retained at $174.
"This is a budget that is responsible and invests in our community, yet keeps any rises in rates and charges to a minimum. From information received to date from other municipalities Latrobe City’s 2006/2007 rate rise is likely to be the lowest across Gippsland."
Cr Lougheed said the draft budget once again displayed a high level of responsibility by restraining increasing costs and reducing debt, while targeting municipal expenditure towards maintaining and expanding services.
"I’m particularly pleased to see investments in resolving traffic safety and parking issues highlighted in the draft budget. The responsible way this budget directs spending towards improving drains, footpaths, roads and waste management will please many in our community," Cr Lougheed said.
"My only reservation is that while our ratepayers’ contribution towards meeting the costs of providing these services and improving infrastructure will be maintained, the federal and state government’s share of providing for the people in our municipality through grants, will in real terms be reduced. This comes at a time when the size of the federal and state government tax take is widely known to be unprecedented.
"It is time the federal and state governments eased the unfair burden on ratepayers and provided a more equitable return from the taxation they impose," Cr Lougheed said.
Submissions on the draft budget and four-year plan should be directed to Tim Johnson at Latrobe City Council, PO Box 264, Morwell 3840. Submissions close Thursday 15 June 2006.
Source: www.gippsland.com Published by: news@gippsland.com
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