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East Gippsland Shire invites community input on prioritising services for the 2025/26 Annual Budget using the 'Fund It' slider tool

East Gippsland Shire seeks community input for the 2025/26 Annual Budget, using an online 'Fund It' slider tool to prioritize services like roads, libraries, health, and recreation. Feedback is open until 21 February 2025.

By news@gippsland - 1st February 2025 - Back to News

As we start to prepare the Annual Budget 2025/26, East Gippsland Shire are calling on community members to share their preferences on how funding for services should be prioritised. Using an online 'Fund It' slider tool, community members are invited to have their say on the council services they value most.

Council is seeking community feedback to assist with the development of the 2025/26 Budget, first round of Draft Budget community engagement is open from 1-21 February 2025

Community budget priorities

Council delivers a wide range of services across a huge shire, including libraries, emergency management, roads, waste and recycling, sports and recreation, health, and local laws. Using the tool, people can indicate how they would allocate Council funds to council services.

East Gippsland Shire Mayor John White said, "We are a big shire with a small number of ratepayers and the income we generate from rates covers less than half what we must spend to deliver the services our communities need. By understanding our community's changing needs and desires, we ensure our services are responsive and reach those who need them most," John added.

Budget feedback tool

Using the slider tool, people can indicate the way they'd like their money spent. For example, some people might choose to spend more on roads, while others might prioritise sport and recreation facilities or maintenance at local parks and gardens. Council is seeking feedback early to help inform the development of the 2025-26 Annual Budget and will also seek further feedback in May on the proposed Budget informed by this engagement.

"We must work within our means to balance what our communities want with what we can afford to deliver. This tool will help us to understand what our communities want most so we can prioritise that in our budget," John said. This first round of Draft Budget community engagement is open from 1-21 February. Give your feedback at Engage East Gippsland website.

Pictures from East Gippsland Shire Council website.

Source: http://gippsland.com/

Published by: news@gippsland.com