THIS week, our council is selling us a budget slightly more than $1 billion and only the slightest of margins above the value of the budget we were presented last year.
It would be fair to ask why we are being asked to pay 2.49% more in rates when council spending has remained stagnant year-on-year.
Those who’ve prepared the budget rightly point out that the increasing cost of goods and services not only impacts households. It is also reflected on city maintenance.
Wage increases, the cost of bitumen and other council costs are all heading north.
In addition, we’re also getting over floods and the damage they caused, paying for additional kerbside cleanup, parks maintenance and of course the continuing fall-out of Covid.
Our council wants to borrow more money, but we’re currently paying down $69 million in debt.
A vanilla budget is what we needed – one which looked after inflation, which would keep essential services ticking over, and which would incorporate a component of planning.
If we’re to sweep aside the buzzwords and pageantry, this really is a responsible budget we can be thankful for.
If you need confirmation, take a look at Moreton Council where rates have skyrocketed 5.6%, and Brisbane City where they rose 4.93% or the Gold Coast which went up 4.3%.
In perspective, our 2.49% isn’t such a bad thing.
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