Draft Budget 2026/2027

Each year, Council is required to place its draft budget on public exhibition and invite community feedback, via submissions, before it is adopted.

The draft budget sets out how Council plans to allocate its resources in 2026/2027, what services we will deliver, what capital works we will undertake, and how we will manage our finances responsibly within the constraints we face.

A suite of documents make up the draft budget and include:

1. 2026/2027 Draft Budget - This is the main budget document that contains the key information.
2. 2027-2036 Draft Ten Year Financial Plan - A document that sets out Council’s long-term financial strategy.
3. 2027-2030 Draft Revenue and Rating Plan - Containing important information about how Council raised revenue and rates.
4. 2026/2027 Draft Operating Income and Expense by Service - Income and expense details of each service area in Council.
5. Draft 4-Year Capital Works Program - A document outlining planned capital works projects over the next four years.
6. 2026/2027 Capital Works commentary - Project details to support the capital works program.
7. Council Plan 2025-2029 - Council's four-year strategic plan

These documents detail how Council will invest its resources to deliver the services, infrastructure and support our community needs.

Developing the Draft Budget - what we heard

Before developing the draft budget, we asked the community to tell us where they think Council should focus its investment. Between November 2025 and January 2026, 245 residents completed a survey through this platform. We're grateful to everyone who took the time to respond.

The results were clear and consistent. Roads are the community's number one infrastructure priority by a significant margin, with 75% of respondents saying they would direct any additional funding to roads, and 34.7% ranked sealed road maintenance as their top priority overall.

Emergency management rated as the most important service across the entire survey, with 62% of respondents describing it as very important, a finding that likely reflects the heightened community awareness of bushfire risk and extreme weather events across our region.

Recreation facilities also featured strongly, appearing in the top five across multiple measures. Across all infrastructure categories, the community's clear preference was for maintaining and renewing what we already have before building anything new.

These findings have directly informed the development of the draft 2026-27 budget. You can read the full summary of results.

What’s in the draft budget?

The 2026/2027 draft budget funds all current council services and proposes an overall rates increase of 2.75% in line with the state government’s rate cap and a capital works program of around $8M.

Highlights include:

• $3.2M for road maintenance and upgrades, our single largest investment and consistently the community’s highest priority
• $1.6M for caravan park upgrades as part of the Caravan Park Masterplans
• $350,000 for drainage renewal and upgrades
• $250,000 for bridge renewal
• $164,000 for footpaths and cycleways (including a new footpath connecting Isaacs Ave to Railway Ave in Yackandandah, subject to approval of grant funding)
• $350,000 towards the Barkly Park Pavilion upgrade
• $327,000 for lighting upgrades at Chiltern Recreation Reserve
• $60,000 each for the Old Chiltern Library and Rutherglen Maternal Health Centre (subject to approval of grant funding)
• $50,000 to protect the Burke Museum collection
• $50,000 for a Community Infrastructure Needs Assessment

Why does the context matter?

Like all Victorian councils, Indigo Shire is operating in a challenging financial environment - with rate capping, rising costs, and ageing infrastructure all placing pressure on what we can deliver. This budget has been built with careful financial management at its centre.

Council Plan 2025-2029 Year Two

The Council Plan 2025-2029 is the document that guides everything Council does; how we prioritise our work, allocate resources, and make decisions on your behalf over the council’s four-year term.

It is built around four themes:

1. Places and Communities
2. Economic Resilience and Opportunity
3. Environment and Heritage
4. Governance and Financial Sustainability.

Each year, Council reviews the plan to confirm the actions scheduled for delivery in the year ahead and assess whether any adjustments are needed. This Year Two update sets out what Council is committed to delivering in 2026/2027 and reflects the strong progress being made against the plan's 48 actions, with 89.6% currently on track.

We are required under the Local Government Act 2020 to place the plan on public exhibition and invite community submissions before it is adopted. This is your opportunity to review the Year Two actions, tell us if you think anything is missing, and have your say on Council's priorities for the coming year.

Provide your feedback

You can submit feedback on the Budget 2026/2027. All submissions will be considered by Council before the budget and Council Plan are adopted.

• Review the draft budget documents and the Council Plan 2025-2029
• Submit your feedback via info@indigoshire.vic.gov.au
• Submissions close at 5pm, 9 June 2026