City of Ballarat Councillors endorse draft budget

City of Ballarat Councillors voted at a Council Meeting last night to endorse the Draft Budget for 2023/24 for public comment.  

The draft budget represents the half-way point in delivering against the six goals of the Council Plan 2021-2025. It was prepared through a rigorous, transparent process of consultation and alignment to the Council Plan 2021-2025.  

City of Ballarat Mayor Cr Des Hudson said the draft budget reflects the priorities of the community.  

“The Ballarat community has told us what is important to them, and we have listened,” he said.  

“We are making long term plans to invest in residents’ priorities and backing them up with budget allocations.”  

Key features of the draft budget that reflect community priorities include:  

• Significant investment in ongoing community infrastructure projects such as the restoration of Her Majesty’s Theatre, the Ballarat Library redevelopment, the Bridge Mall Redevelopment, the Sebastopol Community Hub, and the Airport Runway extension.  
   
• An increased investment in infrastructure such as roads, footpaths and drainage. This includes an allocation of $3.1 million in drainage projects across the city, $36.3 million for Capital Road Infrastructure, and doubling the Asphalting Overlay program from $1 million to $2 million.
   
• An increase in resources in the City of Ballarat internal Statutory and Strategic Planning teams to keep up with the demands of Ballarat’s rapid growth.  

The draft budget proposes no new borrowings for the 2023/24 financial year. The $129.4 million dollar capital works budget will be funded through revenue generation and existing reserves.

Residents can provide feedback on the Draft Budget 2023/24 from Friday 28 April until 5pm Friday 19 May. Residents can access the draft budget at the City of Ballarat Customer Service Centre, Town Hall and on the City of Ballarat website. Residents can fill out the MySay survey, available at the MySay website, from Friday 28 April. 

The City of Ballarat will host two public information sessions for the community to gain a better understanding of the draft budget. Registration for these sessions is encouraged and are scheduled as follows: 

• Tuesday 2 May 1-2pm – Ballarat Town Hall  
• Tuesday 9 May 5-6pm – Virtual (Registration required)  

Members of the community who provide feedback on the draft budget can also request to be heard at the Unscheduled Council Meeting on Wednesday 7 June at 6.30pm.  

Following the public exhibition period, the Draft Budget 2023/24 will go before Councillors at the scheduled June Council Meeting.