Mayor's Budget Speech - southburnett.com.au

July 3, 2013

South Burnett Mayor Wayne Kratzmann delivered the Council’s “no surprises” 2013-14 Budget this morning.

As forecast last year, general rates will rise by 5.8 per cent.

Residents will also pay the much-publicised $200-per-property road levy to help fund roadworks (although pensioners will only pay $100).

In exchange, the Council hopes to return a $1.52 million surplus in 12 months.

Rises in Council’s fees and charges have been held at 2 per cent, slightly below CPI.

As reported in southburnett.com.au on June 25, a proposal to introduce a special levy on water and sewerage charges has been scrapped; so has any closure of swimming pools.

The surplus will be achieved largely through the 6 per cent reduction in council’s workforce, which has generated savings in excess of $2 million.

The main focus of the 2013-14 Budget is roads and infrastructure.

The Council will spend $66.2 million on roads; almost $8.8 million on water and wastewater infrastructure; $2.79 million on plant and fleet assets; $4.8 million on building and property assets; and $1.2 million on IT systems.

It will also invest close to $1 million on upgrading Nanango’s CBD streetscape; $205,000 on Wondai’s Village Green; $630,000 on kerbing, channeling and sealing works in Blackbutt-Benarkin; and $570,000 on amenities upgrades for Yallakool Tourist Park at Bjelke-Petersen Dam.

The full text of Mayor Kratzmann’s speech appears below:

South Burnett Regional Council 2013-14 Budget Statement

presented by Mayor Wayne Kratzmann

Councillors, I present the Budget of the South Burnett Regional Council for the 2013/2014 financial year.

This Budget, I am proud to say, is financially responsible and contributes to the achievement of the outcomes and strategies included in Council’s Corporate Plan.

It is also forward looking in that it fits within a framework which seeks to attain financial sustainability in the long term whilst addressing today’s pressing needs that exist in our community.

Changes to the Local Government Act in 2012 sees the responsibility of this Budget handed back to the Mayor, something that I do not take lightly and therefore it has been prepared and compiled after weeks of work and consultation.

This Council prides itself in working as a team and once again this has been a joint effort with Councillors and staff. Can I pay tribute today to the enormous amount of work done by all departmental heads and in particular to the finance staff headed by General Manager, Gary Wall.

Return To Surplus

The key focus in the development of the Budget has been to return Council to an operating surplus of $1.52 million for 2013/14.

Please take time to consider the enormity of this effort.

Whilst both the Federal and State Budgets and many local governments deliver Budgets with significant deficits, this Council – despite another year of cutbacks and natural disasters – has today brought down a Budget with a $1.52 million surplus.

This has been achieved by the most rigorous review of our operational costs ever undertaken by this Council or by the previous individual councils in the history of South Burnett local government.

A commitment was made in last year’s Budget to review and realign the services Council provide, whilst not knowing the savage cuts we would experience from both the Federal and State governments during the year.

Despite this, we will achieve savings of $2.3 million in the 2013/14 Budget, predominantly from the realignment of staffing levels, which has seen Council’s workforce reduced by 6 per cent.

Council’s overall Operational and Capital Budget totals $131 million and is focused on maintaining and renewing its roads, buildings, water and sewerage assets.

This has all been achieved without the loss of any of Council’s services, something we all should be proud of. Council’s financial position remains sound, however this Budget secures Council’s future financial sustainability.

Rates Rise and Road Levy

General rates will rise by 5.9 per cent and Council will introduce for the first time a Roads Levy of $200.

This has been brought about by Council’s desire to get our roads system back to where our community requires it to be, safe and sustainable.

After the floods earlier this year a decision had to be made: do we find additional funds to get our roads back in shape, or do we not raise the funds and thus not provide a safe road network?

When put into perspective this Council had only one choice. And with no additional funding available from “cash strapped” Federal and State governments the decision became obvious.

The difference with a Roads Levy compared with a larger rate increase is that it ensures all revenue from the levy will be spent on our Council roads and due to this a difference will be seen within 12 months of today’s Budget, something I commit to unreservedly.

Discounts Retained

Pensioners will not pay the full $200 Road Levy, they will receive an additional $100 rebate taking their total State and Local Government concession to $400 per annum.

A full schedule of various rates and charges is detailed in the Budget papers and despite rigorous discussion Council has once again provided a 10 per cent discount to all ratepayers who pay their rates within 30 days of rates being issued.

Fees and charges have been extensively reviewed and increases have been kept to 2 per cent for 2013-14.

The Budget has been based on the following principles.

Minimal growth in fees and charges revenue
Federal financial assistance grant to remain at the 2012/13 level
Federal roads to recovery funding will continue at the 2012/13 level
No reinstatement of State Government subsides
Operating costs to increase approximately 4 per cent
Current level of staffing to remain

Council is faced with an enterprise Bargaining Agreement effective from July 2009 which sees an automatic increase of 3.8 per cent per annum which will again apply this financial year.

However, due to Council’s restructuring, the overall increase in employee costs is only 0.9 per cent.

This minimal increase relates to a number of key factors, including Council’s workforce being reduced by 24 full-time and part-time positions, saving $2.3 million and overtime being undertaken for essential and emergency work only under a revised priority process.

These savings include the employment of an additional work team to undertake road maintenance as part of the Road Levy. An outstanding result!

Sporting And Community Groups

Apart from the doubling of the pensioner remission and the retention of the 10 per cent discount, Council will hand back $260,000 to South Burnett sporting clubs and not-for-profit organisations as part of our commitment in ensuring the longevity of these hardworking committees and organisations.

Council will also allocate grants of $109,000 to organisations under Council’s Community Assistance policy and $14,490 is allocated for Councillors Discretionary funds, again an enormous help for our community.

The focus of this Budget is, however, roads and infrastructure.

Roadworks

$66.2 million including flood repairs will be spent on roads this financial year. A further $14.15 million will be spent on key infrastructure throughout our region.

Today, I proudly announce a $1 million spend on drainage, including kerb and channelling for the townships of Blackbutt and Benarkin over the next five years, which will help the eastern gateway to the South Burnett come of age as wonderful townships and integral part of the South Burnett.

Over $3 million has been allocated to our resealing program for 2013-14, much of which will be spent in Kingaroy; and almost $1 million for street scaping for the Nanango CBD, together with the new off-street parking complex.

Together with the State Government approval for traffic lights at the intersection of Drayton and Henry Streets, this will see a revitalisation of Nanango’s business area.

The road network will receive a $66.204 million boost to maintain and renew our roads. This will include:

General maintenance – $6.218 million
Main Roads and QRail-funded projects – $4.789 million
Capital works program – $11.940 million
Complementary works – $685,000
Flood restoration works – $41.013 million
Transport Infrastructure Development Scheme (TIDs) – $1.559 million

Water And Wastwater

Council is also announcing a significant renewal and replacement program of our water and wastewater infrastructure which will see the future infrastructure requirements of our region assured.

A sum has been allocated for capital improvements in water and wastewater assets across our region:

$1.78 million for water main replacement and upgrade
$800,000 completion of a rising main
$4.265 million Water Treatment Plant upgrades
$1.14 million waste water mains upgrades and replacement
$790,000 Waste Water Treatment Plant Upgrade

Other Projects

This Budget also provides for the environment with $723,000 allocated to continue work on weed control and our fire management program; and $70,000 allocated for erosion and sediment control on Tessmann’s Road North.

Refuse tips will receive the amount of $2.5 million which will include a new Hivesville transfer station and also capital works at Wattle Camp, Proston and Maidenwell.

The final decontamination of the old Kingaroy Depot site at a cost of $270,000 will be completed to allow consideration of the future of the site to be negotiated.

Plant and Fleet assets will receive $2.79 million with the majority of which being the replacement of five trucks, a roller, two backhoes and a new waste truck and trailer.

The IT Budget will include $1.2 million which will see the finalisation and implementation of the new business software, an upgrade of Council’s two-way radio systems and the connection of the Blackbutt office to Council’s network.

Building And Property Assets

Building and property assets form a large part of the 2013/14 Budget with an expenditure of almost $4.8 million.

Major items include:

Kingaroy Aerodrome – $550,000 for resurfacing and a weather forecasting station
$160,000 for cemeteries including redevelopment of the Nanango cemetery and new gates and fencing for Wondai cemetery
$560,000 for halls throughout the region
$98,000 for heritage projects at Ringsfield House and Boondooma Homestead
$295,000 for parks
$333,000 for the South Burnett Private Hospital
$191,000 for servicing pools
$626,000 for tourist facilities, predominantly at Yallakool near Murgon

The 2013/14 Budget will see a record expenditure on roads throughout the vast roads network in the South Burnett area.

One of the defining reasons for the Road Levy was to ensure that every cent raised was spent directly on roads and our rural roads will see the biggest proportion of this spend.

Projects By Town

Now I will turn to the towns in our region.

Towns throughout the region will see a wide variety of projects during 2013/14. Some of these include:

Murgon – $2,093,000

$155,000 – Urban seals, kerb and channelling and footpaths
$30,000 – Caravan park dump point installation
$118,000 – Upgrade and maintenance of building, shops and (Wright Way) units
$50,000 – Shade shelter for Lions Park and additional works at the skate park
$170,000 – New toilet block and maintenance at Murgon Showgrounds, PCYC and Murgon swimming pool
$570,000 – Amenities upgrades at Yallakool
$265,000 – Thompson Street bridge
$735,000 – Murgon water and wastewater supply

Proston/Hivesville – $395,000

$40,000 – Pavement rehabilitation in Proston CBD
$220,000 – Waste transfer station at Hivesville and upgrade at Proston
$25,000 – Proston Community Hall lighting of community area and provision of sound system
$110,000 – Upgrade of Proston water and CBD scheme

Wondai/Tingoora – $1,138,000

$205,000 – Stage 2 of Village Green and caravan park redevelopment
$25,000 – Kerb and channelling work
$93,000 – Upgrades to halls and buildings
$75,000 – Upgrade of Wondai Sportsground, cemetery, swimming pool and Tingoora tennis courts
$670,000 – Water and wastewater improvements
$70,000 – Footpaths and bikeways

Wooroolin/Memerambi/Crawford/Kumbia – $161,000

$75,000 – Bitumen seal of Wooroolin car park
$45,000 – Rehabilitation of tips
$15,000 – Park fencing and playground equipment in Kumbia
$26,000 – Urban seals in Crawford

Kingaroy – $2,264,000

$195,000 – Pavement rehabilitation in Markwell Street
$550,000 – Kingaroy aerodrome
$295,000 – Upgrades to Town Hall and Kingaroy Art Gallery
$140,000 – Depot and Civic Centre improvements
$121,000 – Upgrades to Apex Park, Memorial Park and River Road Park
$323,000 – Renovations and repairs to the South Burnett Private Hospital
$100,000 – Resurface Glendon Street car park
$270,000 – Decontamination of old depot in Pound Street
$270,000 – Footpaths and bikeways

Nanango/Wattle Camp – $2,903,500

$932,000 – Streetscaping Nanango CBD
$199,000 – Arthur Street West, George Street and Gipps Street North constructions
$91,000 – Wattle Camp Transfer Station
$150,000 – Nanango Cemetery redevelopment
$179,500 – Nanango Cultural Centre repairs and upgrades to Ringsfield House
$55,000 – Skate park, shelter and bike training track
$90,000 – Nanango SES building and Aquatic Centre
$740,000 – Drayton Street bridge
$50,000 – Drainage in Jones Street
$417,000 – Wattle Camp Road

Blackbutt/Benarkin/Maidenwell – $1,130,000

$630,000 – Drainage, kerb and channelling and sealing in Blackbutt-Benarkin
$75,000 – Maidenwell transfer station
$55,000 – Blackbutt office IT upgrade
$150,000 – Upgrades to parks, sports grounds and Rail Trail contribution
$220,000 – Water and wastewater upgrades

These aforementioned works are only a snapshot; a highlights package of what is included in the 2013/14 Budget.

There are many other projects listed in rural villages like Durong, Mondure and Coolabunia and, of course, an enormous spend on rural roads and infrastructure, including $1.96 million on bridge repairs.

Summary

Councillors, today I present a Budget totalling $131 million which is focused on essential services.

It contains an operating surplus of over $1.52 million, achieved through sheer persistence, hard work, forward thinking and the ability to work together to bring down a Budget that delivers.

This Budget has been formed under fiscal pressures and difficulties that have been well-documented. Nevertheless this is a Budget that sustains the South Burnett in the long term.

For far too long politicians of all persuasions and in all corners of government have often shied away from the tough decisions and left them up to the next Mayor and Council, Premier or Prime Minister.

This Budget has not followed this road; indeed, it has been developed having followed the Act and duty of care that I believe every political leader should take to ensure our community is best positioned for the future and debt is not transferred intergenerationally, that is to our children and grandchildren.

I have said before and restate today that I am not an advocate of popularist politics but am an advocate of diligent and prudent political decision making.

For this I make no apology.

As an example, I recently raised in the public arena the poor deal Local Government gets from taxation revenue in Australia. Of the 100 per cent (excluding GST) raised, Local Government only gets about 3 per cent yet has to maintain about 80 per cent of infrastructure.

This great nation prides itself on fairness yet here is a classic example of unfairness.

During my time as your Mayor I will continue to champion the cause for more of a fair share of this revenue even if I don’t make the Premier’s or Prime Minister’s Christmas card list.

I present the 2013-14 South Burnett Regional Council Budget.

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