Busselton Council votes to approve budget

The City of Busselton Council has voted to adopt the 2024-25 Budget, which it says will deliver a range of projects and initiatives approved for the financial year.

Revenue to support the budget has been raised through a 7 percent rate increase, inclusive of 1 percent to allocate to a reserve for the future sport and recreation facility provision.

“This is a budget focused on continuing to provide all the high quality services we offer our local community, which support an enviable standard of liveability, whilst also focusing on anticipated future infrastructure needs,” Mayor Phill Cronin said.

“We recognise the need to plan for future population growth in a careful and considered way and have balanced the budget accordingly.

“We also recognise the critical need to ensure the City, as an organisation, is financially sustainable.

“This has meant implementing the rate increase required to meet the increasing costs of service and facility provision in today’s market and enabling us to start catching up after successive years of lower than CPI rating.”

He said sport and recreation was a community priority in the MARKYT Community Scorecard survey from March, leading Council to ensure it was specifically funded in the budget.

An increase of 15.14 percent has been applied to holiday homes differential rates.

“This will offset the revenue reduction the City will experience caused by the introduction of a centralised State Government holiday home register. ”

The 2024-2025 budget also includes $53.2 million for capital works, including $10.2 million in respect of the City’s road network comprising of renewal works on Commonage Road Dunsborough and the reconstruction and widening of North Jindong Road.

The City said $14.5 million would be allocated “in respect of buildings, including the carryover of Saltwater funding and funding for the Dunsborough Lakes Sporting Pavilion”.

Parks, gardens and reserves work, including replacement and renewal of playground equipment in multiple locations and lighting renewal at the Dunsborough Oval and Skate Park will have an allocation of $5.1 million, while $3 million for footpath and cycleway construction and $3.3 million in Busselton Regional Airport work will include $1.2 million to expand the public car park. Coastal stabilisation works will be funded to the tune of $1.3 million.

“The Budget has been carefully considered by Council with a long-term view of the needs of the City and its residents in mind, supporting the City’s growing and diverse community, while ensuring we maintain a high standard of daily service delivery,” Mayor Cronin said.