Published on Thursday, 25 July 2024 at 2:02:26 PM
A budget that delivers for our community.
Council endorsed the 2024/25 Budget at this month's Council meeting with a clear focus on the completion of projects and delivering on community priorities.
The meeting minutes are available on here.
Mayor's Message
In July, Council passed its largest budget to date. This bold, ambitious, and community-driven budget will deliver on many projects that our residents have raised. It is a very community-focused budget that aims to deliver both physical projects and service-based initiatives to make our city an even better place to live, work, and play.
Historically, councils (not just the City) have been criticised for over-promising and under-delivering. The reality is local governments face various challenges in project delivery. The City has pursued many projects, but contractor availability, labour shortages, and the bustling mining industry have hindered the ability of many industries (including ours) to deliver projects on time. However, change is happening. Projects like the footpath renewal and repair program, Goldfields Oasis roof replacement, and roundabout construction, which previously struggled to attract interest, are now either completed, under construction or have had tenders awarded— this is thanks to years of persistence.
To ensure progress, Council has linked the CEO's performance indicators to our capital works program. We are committed to seeing advancement in this year’s key priorities, and we have confidence in our staff and CEO to lead this progress. I'm pleased to see our staff already making headway on many projects within our capital works program.
A major consideration during our budget preparation has been the impact on local residents. The budget includes grants, expected fees and charges, rates, reserves, and more. But it’s the rates that are often the most discussed aspect. The individual 2024/25 rates impact is complex, with variations in how different properties are affected. Some will see a rise, such as those who pay a minimum payment, however there are those who will pay less, and those who will pay differently to their neighbour.
This complexity arises from the Valuer General’s office reviewing all properties in the city—a State Government model for the payment of rates and a process separate from local government, which is unique to each area. Valuations also differ across local governments (i.e you cannot compare a property in Perth to a property in the City of Kalgoorlie Boulder). This is for many reasons - service delivery for one. Unlike metropolitan councils, our City manages a range of services, including waste facilities, the Airport, Animal Management Facility, town halls, roads that are double the normal width, and a wastewater network, which makes comparisons challenging. It really is chalk and cheese.
This year, rates will differ across properties, making it impossible to declare a uniform percentage increase. We have planned to raise an extra 10% from rate revenue (or yield), primarily by lowering residential rates and increasing rates for mining and workforce accommodation. Residential rates on the lowest payments will see about a 10.92% increase, while those on higher rates may see less, depending on the property you own, and its value as decided by the Valuer General’s office.
This process has been complex, but our strategy involves rating mining companies and workforce accommodation more while easing the burden on residents by charging them less than we have done previously.
None of this would be possible without our dedicated team. From budget preparation to project management, customer service to environmental health, and pool lifeguards to Directors, the efforts of our staff will undoubtedly positively impact our community over the next 12 months and for years to come.
Thank you to everyone involved.
More on the budget
Read about the 2024/25 Budget Highlights here.
Read more
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