Building the 2024/25 Budget
Consultation Process
From early October to 20 December, 2023, we sought community input to help us shape the 2024/25 budget.
Why did we consult?
Each year council prepares an annual budget which enables us to manage and deliver our 35 plus services as well as invest in works like roads, footpaths, community facilities and other infrastructure.
The budget details how we will finance and resource our services as well as the priorities and strategic objectives outlined in the four-year Council Plan 2021-2025 and reflected in the Community Vision.
In 2021, we consulted the community about its hopes, dreams and aspirations for the Shire over a 10 year period and this resulted in the following vision statement which helps to guide Council’s decision making.
Indigo Shire - leading sustainable growth, community and cultural diversity, and climate action
To achieve this Vision, Council needs to deliver more than roads, rates and rubbish. We need to ensure that we provide a range of services that meet the many needs and interests of a diverse community. This includes libraries, maternal and child health services, customer service, swimming pools, recreation facilities, economic development, tourism services, building and planning control, events support and waste management just to name a few.
For the past two years, we’ve sought community input into the development of the draft budget. Consistently, the key message back to Council has been to focus spending on maintaining and improving existing infrastructure (roads, drains, footpaths, community buildings). Read the 2023/24 pre-budget survey findings report.
Before developing the 2024/25 budget, we wanted to know if community priorities had shifted and therefore sought feedback to help us further understand what services are valued the most and where residents believe we need to prioritise our spending.
There were a number of ways to provide input and community members were encouraged to participate in them all.
- Share your thoughts/ideas on the key community issues or trends you think Indigo Shire should be paying attention to
- Share your ideas on what projects and investment could make a difference to your town’s liveability and future prosperity. (We've created ideas boards for individual localities, click the link and then keep scrolling to find your town)
- Complete the survey
What did we find out?
A summary report of the findings can be viewed here.
What happens next?
Where possible, we'll implement feedback into the draft budget and other relevant plans and strategies.
The draft budget will be presented to Council in May 2024 and there will be a further opportunity to provide feedback if the draft is endorsed by Council and placed on exhibition.
