March 26, 2014
Ratepayers connected to any of the South Burnett’s five sewerage schemes are likely to pay an extra $100 a year when the South Burnett Regional Council hands down its 2014-15 Budget in July.
South Burnett councillors held a day-long meeting at the Council Chambers in Kingaroy yesterday to begin planning next year’s Budget.
The meeting follows two months of weekly consultations between Mayor Wayne Kratzmann, Deputy Mayor and Finance Portfolio chair Cr Keith Campbell, CEO Ken McLoughlin and Finance General Manager Gary Wall to look at the Council’s financial situation and projected income and expenses for the coming year.
Information from these talks was shared with other Councillors yesterday as planning began on next year’s capital works program.
Mayor Kratzmann said one major capital works item that would be carried out in 2014-15 is the upgrade of Kingaroy’s Waste Water Treatment Plant, which is expected to cost between $18 and $25 million.
The ageing plant failed during the 2013 floods when waste briefly overflowed into the Stuart River catchment.
The Department of Environment and Heritage Protection told Council it needed to urgently upgrade the treatment plant and threatened fines of close to $1 million if it didn’t.
The Council was later able to gain a 12-month reprieve to begin the work.
At its February meeting, the Council short-listed four firms to tender for the project and earlier this month, the State Government confirmed it would contribute $10 million towards the plant upgrade through Round 2 of its “Royalties For The Regions” program.
Council is now expected to borrow the extra funds it needs to complete the project from Queensland Treasury, once a tender has been accepted and final costs are known.
The extra $100 charge will be used to repay the loan, Mayor Kratzmann told southburnett.com.au.
“We’re very fortunate the State Government contributed $10 million towards this,” he said.
“If they hadn’t, sewerage charges would probably have had to rise by $230 rather than $100.”
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