Questions to be asked about shire budgets

BOTH the Bass Coast and South Gippsland shire councils have come out this week with their draft annual budgets.

The documents can be read online within the two councils’ meeting agenda papers.

And as much as they are about financial reporting and compliance, there’s also plenty of useful information in there and an indication of how our councils are performing, and more importantly how they are spending our money.

At a time when our councils are disclosing less and less about what they do, it’s an opportunity to get some primary information about where they are getting their money from and where they are spending it.

And making a comparison between the two local shires can be useful as well.

For example, despite the fact that Bass Coast will collect $100.7 million in income, from all sources in 2023-24, they have only found $29.4 million for capital works. By comparison, South Gippsland will get $80.7 million in revenue, but has committed $36.8 million to capital works.

One reason why Bass Coast could be committing $6 million less to capital works while receiving $20 million more in revenue is because they are projecting to have spent $57 million on capital works this year.

Another might be that South Gippsland has attracted $8.1 million in grants towards capital works, against Bass Coast’s $3.4 million.

Bass Coast may also be carrying forward funding for unfinished works that haven’t yet been disclosed. A full explanation about capital works from both is required.

Also, while South Gippsland is planning to spend $31 million on 274 (EFT) staff, Bass Coast is spending $38 million on 345 (EFT) staff. This could relate to how much extra effort it takes for Bass Coast to provide services to visitors, as one of Melbourne’s most popular and growing destinations, but again, it’s worth a question and an explanation.

One thing that isn’t in the Bass Coast Shire Council’s budget is a full explanation about the overall cost of the Cowes Community and Cultural Centre, officially at $27.2 million.

Credible information from those involved in the project suggests that there has already been a considerable over-run in the cost, and the community deserves to know all of the costs associated with what many now view as an excessive project.

From South Gippsland, we want to know how much cash the shire has in reserve and whether or not they need to keep our rates so high.

It’s also worth noting that the only thing mentioned, besides financial matters, in the Executive Summary of the Bass Coast Shire Council’s Budget 2023-24, is what the council is doing in response to the “Climate Emergency” it declared in 2019.

Is that where the emphasis should be?

Or should Bass Coast simply stay in its lane, get the basics right first, like funding weekly red-bin collections and protecting neighbourhood character from excessive development, before taking on the problems of the world.