Moira Budget and Planning for 2024/25

Moira Shire 2024/25 Budget

Moira Shire Council adopted the 2024/25 Budget at the June Scheduled Council Meeting.

Our Annual Budget is developed to align with the objectives of our Council Plan, whilst also being adaptable to the changing needs and priorities of the community.

Even though Council has developed the 2024/25 budget, community should still think ahead for the future. Council’s project lifecycle generally spans over a few years:

Year 1: Investigation, Scoping & Feasibility

Year 2: Design and Development

Year 3: Project Delivery

The 2024/25 Budget is informed by the Moira Shire Council Plan 2021-25, The Moira Shire Council Asset Plan 2021-2031, Council's Financial Plan, The Moira 2035 Community Vision and community feedback from the Budget Consultation.

Community Consultation Process

To undertake a more effective consultation on the 2024/25 budget development with community, Council commenced its consultation period earlier than previous years to allow for a longer consultation period.

The budget development consultation period for the 2024/25 Budget was from 20 November 2023 to 19 January 2024.

Once the consultation was complete, the Draft 2024/25 Budget document was created and went out for community feedback from 10 May 2024 to 3 June 2024.

The proposed budget was then presented at the June Scheduled Council Meeting, on the 26 June 2024, where council adopted the 2024/25 Budget.

Read the Budget here

Moira Shire Budget 2024/25

Budget Development Consultation Period

20 November 2023 - 19 January 2024.
Shaping the budget

Council received 255 contributions from the community, doubling the contributions received during the 2022/23 budget consultaiton.
Project Ideas

14 Formal Project Ideas submitted by the community, some of which, were heard at a submissions hearing.
Wish List
46 Wish List Votes submitted.
Top voted wish list items
New Bikes and Walking Tracks
Sports and Recreation facility upgrades
Swimming Pools or Splash Parks
Priority Ranking

102 Priority Ranking contributions.
Further Feedback

93 messages received to provide further feedback to our Finance Team.

Collection Notice

Council is collecting the information contained in the Priorities and Wish List engagement tools to help Council understand what the community's priorities are for the capital projects and community services we deliver. This information collected will be used to assist Council in development of the 2024/25 Budget, future budget development and 10-year long term Financial Planning. Your responses will be made available Council Staff involved in development of the budget and the Panel of Administrators. Summarised responses (excluding any identifying information) will made publicly available, including on our website. Council may also disclose your information if required or authorised to do so by legislation.

You can find out more about how we use and protect your information by viewing our Privacy Statement. If you require access to the information you have provided, please contact Council.

Timeline

Timeline item 1 - complete

Community Consultation

Monday 20 November 2023 - Friday 19 January 2024
Community's opportunity to share their priorities and project ideas for the Council Budget.
Timeline item 2 - complete

Submission Hearings

Wednesday 31 January 2024
Community have the opportunity to present their project ideas to Council.
Timeline item 3 - complete

Review Feedback

Council to review and consider survey responses and project idea submissions from community and provide responses to other enquiries.
Timeline item 4 - complete

Respond to Community Feedback

Council to publish a summary of the data results from community’s priority surveys and provide responses to project idea submissions.
Timeline item 5 - complete

Draft Budget Available for Feedback

Friday 10 May - Monday 3 June
The Draft 2024/25 Budget is developed and made available for general community feedback following consideration of all budget submissions received.
Timeline item 6 - complete

Review and Respond to Community Feedback

Council to review queries and feedback provided on the Draft 2024/25 Financial Budget.
Timeline item 7 - complete

2024/25 Budget considered for adoption at Council Meeting

June 2024
The proposed budget is presented at the June Scheduled Council Meeting for Panel of Administrators to adopt for the 2024/25 Financial Year.

Further information about our Budget

Like all Councils across Victoria, Moira Shire is facing significant financial challenges due to rising cost pressures and income limitations set by the rate cap. These challenges have only been exacerbated after the October 2022 flood events as we continue to allocate resources to fund recovery works.

This means that budgeted capital works may be delayed and consolidation of carried forward works is going to take even longer. We will likely require not just one year, but perhaps two to four financial years to get through the backlog and deliver capital works, so we need to focus needs on renewing existing assets not creating new ones.

When drafting a budget Council must respond to the following challenges and external factors, while balancing the priorities of the community.

Rate Capping

In 2015, The Fair Go Rates system to cap rates was introduced to limit the amount of revenue increases a council can levy through rates.

Each year the Minister for Local Government sets a cap on rate increases based on that period’s Consumer Price Index (CPI) and advice from the Essential Services Commission (ESC).

The competition for grant funding is expected to increase significantly as rate capping forces Councils to seek alternative funding options to maintain existing infrastructure and invest in new programs and services. This may intern result in ‘wish list’ projects being funded less frequently, with more of a focus on maintaining Council infrastructure and roads.

The following graph illustrates the income gap caused by rate capping. As the rate cap is generally set at less than the CPI, Council has effectively forgone $9.78 million over the last four financial years. This is despite supplier costs increasing in line with CPI.

Large Geographical Area
Compared with other Victorian Councils, Moira Shire covers a large geographic area with multiple service locations and a relatively small, dispersed and ageing population. This combination means Moira Shire has relatively higher costs to deliver the equivalent range and standard of Council services.

Natural Disasters
Events such as severe storm damage, floods and bushfires require the mobilisation and re-direction of resources within Council to respond to these events in supporting our community and liaising with state government and key emergency service providers. Council will prioritise supporting our region to recover from the recent floods, including restoring road networks, drainage and other essential services.

Cost Pressures
External factors such as the recent floods have caused shortages in the supply of materials and labour. Rises in interest rates and fuel prices place pressure on supplier’s margins as the cost of running their business increases. This is resulting in contract costs escalating particularly for capital and increasing project risk exposure, forcing council to reassess project scopes, delivery timeframes and funding sources.

Asset Maintenance
Many of Moira Shire’s assets are in the latter stage of their useful life and community use is declining, but community service standards along with public use, safety and construction standards are increasing. Moira Shire has moved to fully funding renewals to help offset this gap, however, this will limit the amount of discretionary funding for new capital works.