The community are invited to provide feedback on Council's proposed 2025-26 Draft Budget, which continues to prioritise essential services, including a $3.92 million allocation for drainage improvements.
The Revenue and Rating Plan will also be out for community consultation. This plan helps Council determine the most affordable revenue and rating approach for the next four years.
Council's Draft Budget for 2025-26 is now available for review with feedback open until 27 April.
Yarra Ranges Mayor, Jim Child, emphasised that the primary focus of this year's budget remains on core services and essential infrastructure.
"The Draft Budget outlines the resources we need to fund the range of services our community values. It also details the capital spending needed to maintain, renew or build our Shire's vast array of infrastructure and buildings. Additionally, it includes our plans for investment into technology and other improvements to ensure we continue delivering high-quality, responsive, and accessible services at a reasonable cost," said Cr Child.
"We recognise that cost of living pressures are making it a challenging time, and Council is also navigating difficult financial decisions due to rising costs and reduced grants while continuing to support our residents.
"The message from our community continues to be for a strong emphasis on infrastructure, such as drainage, roads, footpaths and to maintain our existing assets.
"Our Draft Budget is developed with input from our communities across our 55 towns, either directly through community engagement opportunities or from feedback that councillors receive. It is one of our most important documents, and it's vital that it reflects the ongoing and emerging needs of our community," said Cr Child.
"To continue to support our community there are a number of grants available for community and sporting groups to apply for. The popular Capital Development Grants Program is back again with $185,000 available with applications opening in the coming months.
"There are also monthly and annual Community Grants which we have further increased this year to a pool of over $850,000 allocated for them. These grants provide opportunities for people to meet up, socialise and to build connection and a sense of community, which we all know is so important in an area like Yarra Ranges.
"The Draft Budget proposes to apply the State Government's rate cap of 3 per cent for the 2025-26 financial year, which will allow us to continue delivering our core services and our capital works projects efficiently."
Council's Budget allocation areas include:
- Maintaining our roads, footpaths, and trails ($25 million)
- Improving and maintaining parks, trees, sporting facilities, bushlands and reserves ($23 million)
- Caring for the environment and responding to climate change, including emergency event management ($6 million)
- Programs and activities to support the community through all stages of life such as the services offered at Sherbrooke Children's Centre and the Best Start program ($17 million)
Some of the 2025-26 Budget highlights include:
- Lillydale Lake improvements - $1.076 million
- Upwey Main Oval sports field rehabilitation works - $600,000
- 150 Cambridge Rd parkland development - $300,000
- Township improvements such as cleaning, weeding, mulching etc - $900,000
- Delivery of Warburton Mountain Bike Destination trails - $2.478 million (external grant)
- Yarra Valley Trail - $3.95 million (external grant)
- Ngurrak barring - $2.1million (external grant)
- Bimbadeen Reserve, Mooroolbark - $258,000
- Kemp Reserve, Mt Evelyn - $258,000
- Mt Evelyn Recreation Reserve - $258,000
"We're doing all of this while continuing to deliver more than 120 services – everything from libraries to pools, immunisations to planning permits, health inspections to footpath works - in one of the largest and most diverse Local Government Areas in Victoria," Cr Child said.
"We've held or reduced our investment level in several areas to ensure that we can continue to provide services and maintain our important infrastructure, to meet our communities' priorities but balance spending in a tight financial environment.
The budget does come with challenges in managing our long-term financial sustainability, strengthening our cash position, and managing escalating costs across the board. We are a large and complex municipality, and it takes a lot of resources to deliver services across our communities. Diversifying our revenue is a key focus, as we see funding from other tiers of government substantially decline and negatively impact the services we can deliver on the ground.
"I believe we've approached setting this year's budget in a sensible and appropriate way, and I strongly encourage community members to have a read through the Draft Budget, look at what we have planned for the year, and share their feedback with us before 27 April 2025."
Additional information
Last year we promised to deliver on several projects including $2.1 million for the 'Chirnside Urban Park' which was officially opened in July 2024.
This exciting new playspace at Belsay Reserve right by Chirnside Park Shopping Centre features two climbable balloons, a flying fox, a spot for music play, swings, shelters and much more.
Extensive drainage improvements were also completed last year including a $300,000 water detention basin within Carmen Reserve.
This is the first stage of works on Carmen Reserve in Lilydale that will hold flows that come from the north of the Warburton Trail. The water detention basin has a capacity of approximately 2,140 cubic metres.
These works will assist with flooding during heavy and intense rainfall in the Bristol Crescent and Valencia Court catchments.
Of the footpaths constructed over the last year, two of those that were completed were One Tree Hill Road in Ferny Creek and York Rd between Gear Ave and Tramway Rd in Mt Evelyn totalling $528,000 of last year's budget.
