The Draft Rating Strategy 2020/2021 guides Council in setting rates each financial year. The strategy aims to fairly distribute rates across the municipality and raise enough income to be able to deliver the services and projects needed for Banyule. The strategy also sets out an approach for supporting ratepayers experiencing financial hardship and our approach to overdue rates.

The Draft Rating Strategy 2020/2021 is very similar to last years and there is no change to the way rates are applied in Banyule other than in relation to the Cultural and Recreational lands methodology.

The Draft Fees and Charges Schedule 2020/2021 outlines what Council will charge for various goods and services, both statutory and non-statutory. When setting our fees and charges, we considered the impact of fee increases on the community and how the costs of the services compare with similar services provided by others.

The Draft Fees and Charges Schedule for 2020/21 proposes:

• 28% of individual fees and charges won't increase from 2019/20
• Holding our discretionary fees to allow greater accessibility and participation within community
• Consideration of each individual fee and charge increase against its impact on the community, commercial nature and contractual agreements in place

Thank you for your feedback on both the Draft Fees and Charges Schedule 2020/2021 and the Draft Rating Strategy 2020/2021. Feedback has now closed.

Every four years we develop a Strategic Resource Plan which outlines how we will manage our financial and non-financial resources over the next four years to achieve our strategic objectives.

As well as this 4 year Plan, we create an annual budget that implements our Council Plan. The budget includes costs relating to operating the Council like staffing and administering our services as well as budget for physical projects like road repairs, new footpaths and new or upgraded facilities.

The budget is developed in accordance with the Local Government Act 1989, and is shaped using community consultation. Each year the budget needs to focus on delivering quality services and keeping any rate increase in line with the State Government’s Rate Cap.

There are four key components of the budget, these are;