Tough Budget for TRC

The Mayor and CEO of Tablelands Regional Council have both spoken about the difficult decisions involved in the preparation of next year’s budget.

At today’s ordinary Council meeting, Mayor Rod Marti’s Mayoral Minute referred to the need for Council to update and make relevant its forecasts for critical infrastructure investments in communities.

‘Investment forecasts have increased dramatically from the previous term.

‘This will be Council’s most challenging budget as we bring estimates for the replacement of critical community infrastructure onto the books by way of our 10-year Capital Works Program and long-term budget.

‘This includes major infrastructure projects like the Atherton and Yungaburra sewerage treatment plants, and the Atherton Water Security Plan.

‘The combined estimate for the delivery of these three critical projects alone is in excess of $100M in 2025 dollars, and these costs will start to impact next financial year and the financial years to follow.

‘Unfortunately this doesn’t mean our usual costs fall away — we must still maintain just shy of $900M in assets, including many hundreds of buildings, pipes, roads and other infrastructure, while providing an affordable level of service.

‘We are actively looking at strategies to meet these significant financial demands including divesting under-used assets to build up our cash reserves and therefore our borrowing capacity.

‘Many of our strategies will have beneficial flow-on effects such as making more vacant land available for housing, which is in very short supply,’ Mayor Marti.

In echoing the Mayor Marti’s comments, CEO Dr Nikola Stepanov believes the way Council does business needs to change to address the nine figure estimations for the replacement of critical infrastructure.

‘As a Council we need to squarely face up to our challenges at the level those challenges are at and not where we wish or hope those levels were.

‘We have a relatively small base of ratepayers in proportion to the services Council provides and the critical infrastructure we must build and maintain.

‘The new financial year will be a very busy time as plans are put in place to ensure financial and operational sustainability.

‘This includes plans for assets that will reach the end of their life in the next ten-years, and reviewing the business structure of the organisation.

‘As a Council we are also deeply committed to ensuring a strong and vibrant economy for our region, and growing our rateable base — that is the number of ratepayers and users of utilities.

‘At the moment our rateable base is too low when you consider our current financial position, the cost of providing services at the current levels, and the cost of maintaining buildings and infrastructure,’ Dr Stepanov said.

Budget preparations for 2025–26 are nearing finalisation, with plans for endorsement before the June ordinary Council meeting on Thursday 26 June.