Horsham Rural City Council’s proposed 2021-2022 budget is on public exhibition, with the community invited to provide feedback until 5pm, Monday, June 7.
Rates have been increased by the 1.5 per cent ministerial cap, farm differentials have been reduced and the municipal charge has been decreased from $274 to $240.
The draft Budget also includes 27 per cent increase in spending on rural roads and infrastructure.
“Council endorses the 2021-22 Budget because it is financially responsible, fair and equitable and it achieves an urban-rural balance,” Mayor Robyn Gulline said.
“We have seen a year like no other and this budget is aimed at getting us back on track while delivering key projects and infrastructure improvements in the coming financial year,” she said.
The overall capital works program is $20.3 million, which includes allocations to upgrade Horsham Caravan Park, the construction of accessible change rooms at Horsham Aquatic Centre and the refurbishment of Horsham Town Hall’s heritage floor.
Funding will also go towards riverfront developments and implementation of the City to River Masterplan, along with a list of other many other projects across the municipality.
The 2021-22 works are funded from $8.9 million in external grants, $6 million from general revenues, $4.76 million from cash reserves and the balance of $0.62 from asset sales.
There are no external borrowings planned for this year.
Cr Gulline said she was pleased that rural communities would see a substantial increase in infrastructure spending.
Farm values have increased by 27.42 per cent in the past 12 months, prompting Council to propose a further eight per cent discount to the agricultural sector by reducing the differential from 67 per cent to 59 per cent.
This means that farmers will pay rates on 59 per cent of the value of their properties.
“The farm sector had one of its most productive years on record during the 2020 season and this was on the back of a strong year in 2019. This is driving an extremely aggressive market in farmland sales that has led to some extraordinary leaps in land value and therefore rates,” Cr Gulline said.
“These changes will deliver a fairer outcome to the 2021-22 rate distribution but because of the changes in valuations, we will still see the average contribution of rates for the farm sector rise by 10.65 per cent.
“If Council were not to adjust the differential, the farm sector increase would have been approximately 17.9 per cent,” she said.
Rates for the residential sector will rise by 3.01 percent, commercial will fall by 4.33 per cent and Industrial will increase by 0.18 per cent.
Spending on rural roads is increasing overall by $1.56 million or 27 per cent as follows:
- Grading program $0.074 million or 10.4 per cent
- Drainage program $0.025 million or 11.1 per cent
- Vegetation management $0.048 million or 17.6 per cent
- General maintenance $0.020 million or 2.9 per cent
- Road construction and rehabilitation $0.572 million or 17.2 per cent
- Gravel re-sheeting program by $0.364 million or 67.9 per cent
- Bridges and culverts $0.455 million
The draft budget is available on the Council website via the ‘Have Your Say’ section.
“Preparation of the annual budget is one of Council’s most important strategic responsibilities. I encourage members of the community to review the proposed 2021-2022 budget and provide any feedback they would like Council to consider prior to considering formal adoption of the budget in late June,” Cr Gulline said.
