A capital works program totalling more than $18.2 million headlines the City of Launceston’s proposed 2022/23 Annual Budget.
The City of Launceston will next week consider sending the proposed budget out to the community for a four-week public consultation period.
Capital projects proposed in the budget include $800,000 to upgrade the Queen Victoria Museum and Art Gallery’s popular children’s activity centre, the Phenomena Factory, $8.5 million for road, footpath and trail upgrades, $1.3million for parks and playground upgrades, and $1.5 million for new traffic signals at the junction of Invermay Rd and Lindsay Street.
Launceston Mayor van Zetten said the proposed general rate increase of 3.75 per cent was well below the annual Hobart CPI to December 2021 of 4.5 per cent, and that the Council had budgeted for an underlying deficit of $3.0 million for 2022/23.
Mayor van Zetten said work would begin shortly on revising the Council’s Long Term Financial Plan, with a view to returning to a small underlying surplus in the medium term.
Challenges involved in preparing the proposed budget this year included reduced dividends from both TasWater and the Council’s ownership stake in the Launceston Airport, and escalating prices on materials and services due to increased fuel and commodity costs.
“The proposed budget is predicated on the fact we are still in economic recovery mode as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic,” Mayor van Zetten said.
“As a local government authority, it’s important that we always seek to balance the challenges faced by our community with the need to maintain the wide array of services and facilities our community relies on.
“With a proposed rate increase below CPI, and a significant capital works program aimed at maintaining and upgrading existing assets, the Council has attempted to strike this balance.
“Setting the Annual Budget each year is a complex and challenging process for the City of Launceston, and we rely on community input into that process to ensure we are prioritising the issues that matter to residents.
“I look forward to the discussion around the table next week as we progress towards setting the City of Launceston’s budget for the 2022/23 financial year.”
