Thank you to everyone who participated in community engagement activities earlier this year to help develop the Revenue and Rating Plan, Council Plan Year 4 Action Plan and Budget 2024-28.

The final documents were adopted by Council on Monday 24 June 2024. To view a recording of the meeting and take a look at the meeting minutes, go to Council's website. This project was Items 3.3, 3.4 and 3.5 on the agenda.

Context

The Budget is where the magic happens, funding essential services like road maintenance, community programs and looking after our parks and sports facilities.

But it's the Revenue and Rating Plan, which outlines our fees, charges and council rates, that makes everything possible. These aren't just documents. They're the financial engine that brings the services and projects in our Council Plan to life.

This is the final year of Banyule's 4-year Council Plan. Actions in the Year 4 Action Plan will focus on:

• continuing activities and projects from the Year 3 Action Plan
• new initiatives and key strategic planning documents
• key advocacy issues on behalf of the community.

Actions and programs that are part of Council normal business are presented in the overview of services.

Background

Banyule's four-year Council Plan was adopted by Council following in-depth deliberative engagement with the Banyule community in 2021. To support delivery of the Plan, Council adopts a yearly action plan each year of the four year Plan.

The yearly plans includes actions and services to help Council achieve Banyule's Community Vision 2041, and covers everything from delivering community events, community services, strategies and supporting the reduction of waste and carbon emissions.

Actions sit under the six priority themes from the Community Vision:

• Our Inclusive and Connected Community
• Our Sustainable Environment
• Our Well-Built City
• Our Valued Community Assets and Facilities
• Our Thriving Local Economy
• Our Trusted and Responsive Leadership

Overview

The Revenue and Rating Plan outlines how Banyule Council will generate income to build our Budget and deliver the Council Plan and Community Vision 2041. It considers:

• how we generate income through rates
• service charges and rates applied on services such as waste and recycling
• fees and charges for services and programs
• contributions from developers
• revenue generated from Council assets
• grants from other governments.

Budget 2024-28 will continue Council's recovery effort from the financial challenges associated global financial impacts of supply shortages and increased costs.

As an organisation, Council remains committed to ensuring long-term financial sustainability and to do this Council is prioritising the needs of the community, striving to maintain essential services, delivering infrastructure and supporting economic growth.

We also continue to seek crucial funding support from State and Federal Governments to address our ageing infrastructure and contribute to the revitalisation of our community.

To respond to these challenges, we have made efforts to offset expenses through innovation and adapting our systems without impacting the quality of our services. We also remain focused on delivering our previous commitments to our Community.