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Every year, Council develops a budget that funds services, infrastructure and capital projects across the Shire.
An important part of developing the draft budget is understanding which services matter most to you and where you'd like to see us prioritise capital investment. This engagement is your opportunity to shape those priorities.
But first, we want to be upfront about the realities of Council's budget.
How Council's budget works
Our annual budget is approximately $36M. If you're thinking "that's a lot of money, why can't you fund everything?", here's the reality:
About 85% of our budget is already committed to the on-going delivery of services you rely on every day:
Maintaining 491km of sealed and 1,032km of unsealed roads.
Collecting waste and running transfer stations
Maintaining parks and gardens
Operating four libraries, five pools, and dozens of community facilities
Delivering maternal and child health services
Planning and building services
Emergency management
These services cost more each year (wage increases, rising costs of fuel and utilities, insurance premiums etc) but rate capping limits how much revenue Council can raise. This creates an ongoing squeeze on service delivery and capital works.
The remaining 15% of the budget goes to capital works, renewing and upgrading infrastructure like roads, bridges, buildings, and community facilities.
Why your input matters
This pre-budget engagement focuses on where your input has real impact: helping Council understand community priorities.
You may ask why participate if funding is limited? That’s a fair question. Here's why your input matters:
Even with only a small discretionary spend, there are still decisions to be made about priority projects. Your feedback helps to ensure that we are focussed on the most important community needs.
Township-specific priorities differ. What matters most in Yackandandah might differ from priorities in Rutherglen or Kiewa-Tangambalanga. We need to understand these differences.
Strengthens the case for advocacy to state and federal governments for additional funding for things such as road upgrades.
Informs long-term planning, not just this budget, but multi-year infrastructure planning and the Financial Sustainability Strategy.
Builds better understanding, both Council and community understand each other's constraints and priorities better.
This survey will close Friday 9 January 2026
Every year, Council develops a budget that funds services, infrastructure and capital projects across the Shire.
An important part of developing the draft budget is understanding which services matter most to you and where you'd like to see us prioritise capital investment. This engagement is your opportunity to shape those priorities.
But first, we want to be upfront about the realities of Council's budget.
How Council's budget works
Our annual budget is approximately $36M. If you're thinking "that's a lot of money, why can't you fund everything?", here's the reality:
About 85% of our budget is already committed to the on-going delivery of services you rely on every day:
Maintaining 491km of sealed and 1,032km of unsealed roads.
Collecting waste and running transfer stations
Maintaining parks and gardens
Operating four libraries, five pools, and dozens of community facilities
Delivering maternal and child health services
Planning and building services
Emergency management
These services cost more each year (wage increases, rising costs of fuel and utilities, insurance premiums etc) but rate capping limits how much revenue Council can raise. This creates an ongoing squeeze on service delivery and capital works.
The remaining 15% of the budget goes to capital works, renewing and upgrading infrastructure like roads, bridges, buildings, and community facilities.
Why your input matters
This pre-budget engagement focuses on where your input has real impact: helping Council understand community priorities.
You may ask why participate if funding is limited? That’s a fair question. Here's why your input matters:
Even with only a small discretionary spend, there are still decisions to be made about priority projects. Your feedback helps to ensure that we are focussed on the most important community needs.
Township-specific priorities differ. What matters most in Yackandandah might differ from priorities in Rutherglen or Kiewa-Tangambalanga. We need to understand these differences.
Strengthens the case for advocacy to state and federal governments for additional funding for things such as road upgrades.
Informs long-term planning, not just this budget, but multi-year infrastructure planning and the Financial Sustainability Strategy.
Builds better understanding, both Council and community understand each other's constraints and priorities better.
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