2007/2008 Proposed Budget

Community feedback has helped Council identify seven key priority areas for the municipality and we have developed a proposed budget that reflects these local needs, which include:

• Local Infrastructure Funding - Asset management, footpaths and roads, integrated transport and graffiti management.
• Human Services - Children’s services, residential care and affordable housing.
• Strategic Planning - Strategic land use planning, structure plans and urban design frameworks.
• Recreation Facilities - Open space/parks and an Indoor Sports Facility.
• Local Employment - Youth/local employment.
• Community Consultation - Consultation and engagement and integrated communications.
• Culture/Arts Funding - Festivals and events, community arts and public art.

Budget Highlights

The Budget provides for operating revenue of $104.2 million, and increase of 6.05% from the 2006-07 Budget of 97.9 million.

Operating expenditure is budgeted at $96.7 million with a resulting operating surplus of $9.1 million which assists in providing the necessary cash flow to part fund Council’s extensive capital works program.

Council will also reduce its borrowings by $4.56 million, leaving a debt of only $4.6 million, the lowest level since amalgamation in 1994. As a result of interest saved on loans, Council has been able to allocate and extra $450,000 to its comprehensive capital works program.

No new loans are proposed for the 2007-08 Budget, in accordance with Council’s revised Strategic Resource Plan 2007-11.

Community Grants

The Proposed Budget contains $1.5 million in community grants. Of this, $726,000 is allocated for programs that support new initiatives. In addition to the community grants funding, there is $419,460 contained within the Budget for contribution to the nine Neighbourhood Houses located in the City of Yarra.

Capital Works

The 2007-08 Budget includes $24.9 million of capital works, of which $14 million are renewal works and $9.1 million are new works. The major capital works projects include:

• $7.1 million to replace and upgrade roads, footpaths, kerb and channels
• $9.8 million upgrading community buildings and Council assets
• $3.1 million for open space improvements
• $891,000 in transport and road safety initiatives
• $1.1 million information systems

New Initiatives

The 2007-08 Budget also contains $1.38 million in new initiatives, which include:

Children’s Services
Municipal Early Year Program: Parent Education  $6,000
Childcare Fee Assistance program $15,000
St. Andrews Kindergarten support $200,000
Ready for School – Family Support Program $28,000
Youth Support Worker for newly arrived migrants $60,000
        
Human services
Public Health Needle Disposal Program $60,000
Homeless Service Study $11,000
Neighbourhood House support $12,500
Affordable Housing Strategy Implementation $32,000
Increase of Leisure centre concession pricing $95,000

Aged care
Positive Ageing Strategy $4,000
Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Outreach grants $5,000
Access and Inclusion - Respite Care for Families with Children Living with a Disability $ 25,800

Promoting local businesses
Retail Shopping Strip Promotion $60,000
Business & Community Database $15,000

Indigenous programs
Artistic Indigenous programs for Smith Street
for ‘Dirty Mile’  $20,000
Aboriginal Partnership Officer $26,000
Promote Aboriginal History of Fitzroy and Collingwood $8,800

Infrastructure
Drain cleaning program $410,000
Graffiti Removal (additional) $88,000
Yarra Environment Strategy Initiatives $225,000
Brotherhood of St Laurence Street-cleaning Employment Program $220,000

Environmental Initiatives

Environmental initiatives feature high on the list of priorities in this year’s Budget, with over $2.5 million of funding for services and projects, including:

• $745,000 for bushland vegetation, drought remediation and repair, soil contamination research and Yarra Environment Strategy initiatives.
• Over $380,000 for bushland maintenance, irrigation, stormwater management, Yarra’s greenhouse action plan and elm leaf beetle and possum management.
• $780,000 for looking after Yarra’s trees.

Promoting local businesses

The Budget also delivers over $1.9 million in infrastructure and services to support our local traders, including:

• $135,000 for retail shopping strip promotion and development of a business and community database.
• Over $775,000 for footpath works along Bridge Road, Swan Street and Nicholson Street, and the delivery of Masterplan outcomes along our Main Streets.
• A further $130,000 for graffiti removal along the shopping strips.

Rates

In order to meet the growing needs of the community and to continue to deliver the wide range of services provided by Council we have had to propose a rate increase.

It is proposed that the City of Yarra increases the amount of overall rates it collects by 5.25%. This increase is moderate compared to rate increases in other municipalities. A survey of inner metropolitan Councils on anticipated rate increases for the 2007/08 financial year revealed a 6.28% average increase expected for the inner metropolitan region.

Council seeks to find a balance between an equitable and fair rate increase and the delivery of a range of services for the community.

At the same time, the State and Federal Government continues to cost shift many services to the local level, leaving a service gap while offering no extra funding to cover these new services.

In fact, Australian Local Government Association research shows that councils, through rates, obtain only around 4% of overall tax revenue in this country, but are responsible for delivering around 80% of local on-the-ground services.

Fees and Charges

Generally, fees and charges are proposed to increase by 3%. Fees and charges have been reviewed and adjusted to account for increased costs and market comparisons, however Council has tried to ensure that all fees and charges remain equitable for all members of the Yarra community.

This has resulted in a fee reduction at our leisure centres for concession card holders, and a modest increase in parking and child care fees as explained below.

Leisure centre concession fees

To provide for the health and wellbeing of residents, this Budget proposes a further reduction in concession prices to 50% of regular charges.

Proposed decreases in concession fees:
Casual concession swim – from $2.50 to $2.10
Swim, spa and sauna (concession) – from $6.60 to $4.40
10 concession swim – from $21.50 to $19.70
Gym concession – from $10.30 to $8.85
Kiddie gym concession – from $5.20 to $3.75
Creche concession – from $2.80 to $2.15 per hour
Yoga concession – from $13.30 to $8.25

This is an example of Council’s commitment to increasing equitable access to facilities and services for the whole of the Yarra community and also our commitment to facilitating a healthy and active community.

Parking permits

The 20007-08 Budget proposes a range of minor increases in parking permits.

There is a growing demand for parking in Yarra and in all inner suburban areas of Melbourne.

The City of Yarra is an old municipality. Local streets built in the 1800’s were not designed for cars or for households to park more than one vehicle. 

Inner Melbourne Council’s are working closely together to discourage people from driving in and around already congested areas and to wherever possible use sustainable modes of transport.

The parking permit fee system is just one strategy to help achieve this goal. Council, as part of IMAP and the Metropolitan Transport Forum, is implementing a range of strategies and initiatives to increase sustainable transport use across the region.
      
Increasing parking permit fees is part of our commitment to reducing the number of cars on local roads.

This also brings Yarra’s parking permit fees in-line with Port Phillip’s in a push for regional sustainable transport.

Proposed increases in parking permit fees:
First resident or visitor permit – from $22.00 to $25.00
Second resident or visitor permit – from $44.00 to $55.00
Third resident or visitor permit – from $44.00 to $85.00
First business permit – from $85.00 to $89.00
Second business permit – from $127.00 to $133.00

Child Care

In order to provide quality child care services for the community, Council has had to raise child care fees to cover extra expenses. These include:

• Staffing an addition of 35 baby and toddler places
• To continue the implementation of our continuous improvement and accreditation programs
• Switching to environmentally sustainable practices and processes
• Staff training and development
• Increasing cost of hiring agency staff due to shortage of qualified child care workers

Council supplements child care fees by approximately $8.00 per day, per child in an effort to keep costs low and quality high for the community, this equates to approximately $600,000 per year.

The fees charged for child care only cover the operational costs of the service, such as employee costs and centre expenses, all overhead expenses are absorbed into Council’s operating costs.

The City of Yarra’s child care fees are among the lowest in metropolitan Melbourne which vary between $55-$75 per day.

To ensure that there is equitable access to our services in order to support vulnerable or disadvantaged members of the community:

• Council has budgeted and additional $15,000 to our comprehensive family support service.
• Council has reduced the concession fees for 4 year old sessional kindergarten from $8.50 per day to $2.60 per day.
• Council funds five community agencies ($10,000 each) to provide occasional care for disadvantaged resident families.

Anticipated increases in childcare fees:
Child care centre (1 to 4 days) – from $60.00 per day to $65.00 per day
Child care centre (5 days) – from $300.00 per week to $315.00 per week
After school care (casual) – from $11.30 per 3 hours to $12.00 per 3 hours

How to Make a Submission

The Proposed Budget is on public exhibition until Monday 2 July.

Residents will be able to provide further feedback on the budget via a submission by 4.00pm Monday 2 July to: Manager Finance, City of Yarra, PO Box 168, Richmond VIC 3121.

Residents wishing to speak to their submission are invited to attend Council’s Finance and Governance Committee meeting at 6.30pm, Monday 2 July at the Fitzroy Town Hall, Corner Napier and Moor Streets, Fitzroy.

The final budget, after consideration of community feedback, will be present to Councillors for adoption at the July Council meeting. The final budget must be submitted to the Minister before 31 August 2007.

Budget 2006-07
Budget 2005-06
Budget 2004-05

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Further information

Marc Giglio
Manager, Finance
Telephone 9205 5236
Email info@yarracity.vic.gov.au

Links

Within this site
City of Yarra Budget 2007-08 – Have Your Say

External sites (Yarra City Council accepts no responsibility for the information or opinions contained within external sites)
Victoria Online

Information supplied by: Electronic communications & design officer - 9205 5214

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