The makings of a Council budget
Published on 02 July 2015
Consultation, number crunching and deliberation are part in parcel of Council’s budget preparations that begin at least six months out from when it is delivered to the community.
The makings of a budget are often silently and progressively constructed over time in the background, with public consultations happening in the foreground and ongoing private budget workshops behind the scenes.
Councillors have been a part of the of the 2015/16 draft budget the entire way through and are legislatively given two weeks to make any changes after it is delivered and before it is adopted on 9th July.
Rockhampton Region Mayor Margaret Strelow says the building of a budget is an intensive and extensive component of Local Government that requires sound asset management planning.
“A budget does not happen overnight, we have over 43 different services that we provide for our community,” Mayor Strelow said.
“There are nine planning documents relating to Council’s key assets, which include water, sewerage, building and roads.
“Our Strategic Asset Management Plans require forward planning to identify what new infrastructure we will need and when and where we will need it; this is then reflected in the current forward budget projections.
“Growing our communities means making sure the right roads and water pipes are built when they need it.
“We have spent a lot of time and money modelling our future growth and infrastructure needs, particularly for Gracemere’s industry and residential growth,” she said.
The Queensland Treasury Corporation gave Council’s sound management planning the tick of approval in its 2014/15 report card with a moderate rating reflecting adequate debt servicing capacity and a high level of council controlled revenue.
“It’s a long journey to build a budget. It’s based on rigor and solid analysis,” Mayor Strelow said.
Council’s General Manager of Regional Services Bob Holmes said asset management plans are constantly evolving.
“It’s a living document that is always changing and being updated to reflect the needs of our community,” Mr Holmes said.
“In order to even begin building a budget our asset management plans must be developed to ensure the management of our infrastructure asset portfolios are effective and provide our community with the level of service that is required.”