By Callum Ludwig
By adding an additional Council meeting to their schedule on Tuesday 6 June, Yarra Ranges Council has sped up the implementation of its 2023/24 draft budget.
The draft budget is now open for the community to view and provide feedback until 5pm on Sunday 20 June, with the finalised budget to be considered at the Tuesday 11 July meeting.
Speaking to the motion, Yarra Ranges Council Mayor Jim Child said the community has told the council that continuing services and providing good local infrastructure were a must for this year’s budget.
“Our Budget is created on behalf of, with the assistance of and for our communities over 55 townships. It’s one of our most important documents, and so community feedback is critical when we put it together,” he said.
“We heard, in person and online, that people wanted a stronger focus on infrastructure such as roads, footpaths and drainage, to look after existing assets alongside building new ones and prioritise the protection of our environment.
The full list of 57 Capitals Works Projects for completion by July 2024 has been announced, split between the three major subsections of the region: 14 in the Hills, 16 in the Valley and 27 in the Urban area of the LGA. The total expenditure on these projects totals $76.6 million, with $21.5 million of that total carried over from 2022-23.
Cr Child said the Capital Works program looks different this year.
“We want to balance how we invest in new infrastructure while maintaining and improving the assets we have,” he said.
“Our primary focus this year is on maintaining, repairing and improving our footpaths, roads and trails, helping you get to where you need to go.”
$59.4 million of the total is going towards renewing existing assets, with $17.1 million is set to construct new assets. $36.2 million of external funding has been received from a combination of the State and Federal Governments.
Cr Child said that cost of living pressures – including rising interest rates, materials
and labour costs – has had a significant impact on the community and on Council.
“We’re extremely mindful of balancing two very delicate situations – the community facing some of the greatest cost of living pressures in more than a decade, and the same pressures impacting the costs of our service delivery,” he said.
“Designing a budget to deliver more than 100 services to 165,000 residents across 55 townships is never easy, so we’ve held or reduced our investment in several areas to our 2022-23 financial year levels, to allow us to invest more in areas identified as priorities by the community.”
The full list of Capital Works in the Dandenong Ranges is as follows:
Belgrave – streetscape improvements on Blacksmiths Way ($200k, multi-year
project)
Belgrave Heights – Installation of new lighting and fencing at the tennis facility
($250k, including Federal Government funding)
Belgrave South – Infrastructure works at the Recreation Reserve, including lighting
and a youth space ($290k, State Government funding)
Ferny Creek – Installation of new lighting and fencing at the tennis facility ($250k,
including Federal Government funding)
Ferny Creek – Construction of a path to connect existing path with One Tree Hill Car
Park ($30k, multi-year project)
Kalorama – Design of new drainage outfall pipe on Childs Road ($15k, multi-year
project)
Monbulk – Stormwater Harvesting System for Monbulk Reserve ($168k)
Monbulk – Energy works as part of the Monbulk Resilient Energy Precinct Project
($100k, including $50k Federal Government Funding)
Tecoma – Footpath rehabilitation on Burwood Highway ($154k)
Tecoma – Footpath rehabilitation on Kitchener Road ($18k)
Upwey – Playspace renewal works on Wright Avenue ($200k, including $100k State
Government funding)
Upwey – Footpath rehabilitation on Argyle Avenue ($19k)
Upwey – Renewal of tennis courts, including surface, lighting, fencing, drainage and
infrastructure ($465k)
Upwey – New court surfaces, lighting, fencing and infrastructure at the Upwey South
Community Space ($330k, Federal Government Funding)
Streeton Ward Councillor Andrew Fullagar seconded the motion and said we are living in a very restricted, tight financial environment with relatively high inflation.
“7 per cent increase in costs and services are blowing out, with some of our infrastructure costs increasing by 20 per cent. There are higher expectations from our communities, and that’s appropriate, we should be looking to be to do better and be better,” he said.
“I believe this is a very appropriate and responsible document in the difficult circumstances we live in. I think overall, it reads well and it’s one of the better budgets I’ve read over the last number of years.”
The motion was carried unanimously.
Yarra Ranges residents can read more about the draft budget and provide their feedback here: www.shaping.yarraranges.vic.gov.au/council-budget-2023-24.
