May 20, 2021
South Burnett Regional Council’s projected $4.65 million deficit for 2021-22 may actually come in at $3.2 million, according to Mayor Brett Otto.
The reason for the lower-than-expected shortfall is $1.4 million in savings the Council has made on this year’s outlays.
In his monthly report – delivered at Wednesday’s Finance standing committee meeting – the Mayor noted that Council’s total borrowings were $33.297 million at the end of April.
About $2.9 million of this was current debt and the rest was classified as non-current.
Against this, Council had total cash reserves of more than $35.6 million and total assets in excess of $920 million.
Later the same day – at a Budget planning meeting – the Mayor said his earlier predictions of a $4.65 million deficit may now need to be revised.
In light of the savings that have been found in day-to-day operations, he believed the deficit might now come in at $3.2 million.
The Mayor said Council had inherited a $2.8 million deficit when it handed down its first Budget last year.
This was due to a change in depreciation allowances made a short time before the new Council came to office.
The final deficit will be announced when the 2021-22 Budget is handed down on June 30.
