Moira Shire Council adopted its budget along with the SRP at the ordinary meeting held last week.
Another big winner from Yarrawonga is the Yarrawonga Multisport Stadium with $2.56m set aside.
Mayor Libro Mustica thanked the 26 submitters who participated in the community consultation process and explained the financial health of the current council as well as the decisions that have been made during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“It is vital, especially during times of crisis, council provides a solid framework from which our communities will not only survive but be able to rebuild quickly and efficiently and I believe this budget will provide that framework,” Cr Mustica said.
“I would like to thank all the submitters who participated in the community consultation process. This will be the final budget for this current council and after the local government elections in October, the newly elected councillors will inherit a council in excellent financial health to start their term.
“Despite the added pressures of working through a pandemic, developing this year’s budget has been a positive experience with councillors and officers working together as a team for the betterment of the whole community.
“With the COVID-19 restrictions still in place and the tough economic outlook for businesses and organisations, we have made key decisions which will give direct benefit to the shire as a whole –
• We will not be increasing charges for the organic bin service or the environmental levy;
• We have developed a COVID-19 Financial Hardship Policy to assist ratepayers in difficulty;
• We have waived council rent for the June quarter for enterprises that operate from council-owned or managed land and we have also waived 50% for the September quarter;
• ‘Hire of park’ fees for events have been waived until the end of September and ‘hire of hall’ fees will not be charged until the end of September for council-operated buildings in Cobram and Yarrawonga.
“In this budget we have committed to the delivery of new assets and the expansion, upgrade and renewal of existing assets including –
• More than $600,000 for flood mitigation;
• Almost $9 million for roads, drainage and kerb and channel works;
• $4.35 million for the new Yarrawonga Library development;
• $150,000 to extend the popular skate park in Numurkah;
• $300,000 to upgrade the Yarrawonga Splash Park;
• $150,000 to renew the Strathmerton netball courts; and
• $2.56 million for the Yarrawonga Multisport Stadium development.
“We have not neglected any part of our community, with our goal being to deliver as many affordable and beneficial projects across the shire as possible.”
The Strategic Resource Plan (SRP) proposes council to deliver $74 million of works over the four-year period to 2024 and identifies priority investment areas including more than $14 million of new and upgraded infrastructure and a sustained program of investment in drainage and flood mitigation works. The 2020/21 Budget and Strategic Resource Plan can be viewed on the Moira Shire website at www.moira.vic.gov.au.
