Greater investment in our community's roads, recreation and leisure facilities, and major upgrades to early childhood facilities are among highlights of Mildura Rural City Council's 2024-25 Draft Budget.
The $162.48 million Draft Budget is now available for the community to view and provide feedback on, detailing how Council will continue to fund more than 100 services and improvements across the municipality.
It features a healthy $51.2 million capital works program including:
- $18.81 million on buildings and improvements including construction of the Red Cliffs Early Years Hub and the Nichols Point Kindergarten (subject to grant funding).
- $10.98 million on roads projects
- $5.19 million on drainage
- $2.90 million on parks, open spaces and streetscapes
- $3.32 million on recreation, leisure and community facilities.
Specific projects within next year's capital works program include:
- Nichols Point Recreation Reserve sports facility
- Stage 3 of the Mildura Riverfront Jaycee Park adventure playground
- Renewal and upgrade of the Murrayville Kindergarten
- Mildura Glass Sorting and re-processing facility
- Replacement of the Quandong Park Oval toilets
Other highlights in the coming Budget include more than $10 million on parks, playgrounds and trees and almost $4.5 million on community health, safety and wellbeing initiatives.
Mildura Mayor Liam Wood said the major challenge in developing each year's annual Budget was striking the balance between providing services and facilities for the community while minimising as much as possible the impact on ratepayers.
"Each year's annual Budget is the result of months of work and a constant balancing act, made even more challenging in the current climate by the ever-increasing cost of living, which none of us are immune to, including us as Councillors who live in this community," Cr Wood said.
"I think this year's Budget has managed to strike this balance, and I'm particularly pleased to see the increased investment in early years services, roads, recreation and leisure facilities compared to last year.
"These are among our community's most utilised facilities, whether it be the roads you drive to work on each day, or the sporting facilities thousands of our residents enjoy each weekend."
Council has not sought an increase over the Victorian Government's Fair Go Rate Cap of 2.75% for the coming financial year.
This is well below the 2023/24 3.5% rate cap, which most Local Government areas adopted, and lower again than the 3% increase adopted by Mildura Councillors.
The 2024/25 Draft Budget is now available for the community to view at yoursay.mildura.vic.gov.au/Budget24-25
Feedback can be provided until Monday, 3 June 2024.
