{"id":329945,"date":"2023-03-15T20:10:00","date_gmt":"2023-03-15T10:10:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/?p=329945"},"modified":"2023-03-17T00:52:02","modified_gmt":"2023-03-16T14:52:02","slug":"ktp-bill-totals-17-64m","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/2023\/03\/15\/ktp-bill-totals-17-64m\/","title":{"rendered":"KTP Bill Totals $17.64m"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The $17.6 million Kingaroy Transformation Project cost ratepayers around $9 million, Council staff say, with most of the balance contributed by the Federal and State Governments (Graphic: SBRC)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

March 15, 2023<\/strong><\/p>\n

A total of $17.64 million has been spent on the Kingaroy Transformation Project (KTP), with $9.4 million of this coming from rates.<\/p>\n

At March’s Liveability Standing Committee meeting, South Burnett Regional Council staff confirmed that all outlays associated with the KTP so far had been included in the 10-year capital works report presented at February’s General Meeting.<\/strong><\/p>\n

That report showed what capital works projects had been undertaken in each of the Council’s six divisions over a 10-year period between 2013 and 2023, and how much had been spent on each one.<\/p>\n

However, staff conceded this might not be as obvious as had been hoped.<\/p>\n

This was because KTP funding had come from several sources and it was necessary to show the project’s outlays over three lines.<\/p>\n

For clarity, they said 40 per cent of the KTP’s budget had been funded by external grant programs or State Government departments such as the Building Better Regions Fund or the Department Of Transport and Main Roads.<\/strong><\/p>\n

A further $1.4 million had been drawn from the Council’s Water and Wastewater business unit to cover the replacement of 70-year-old underground water and sewerage pipes in Kingaroy’s CBD.<\/p>\n

And the balance – $9.05 million – had come from the Council’s capital works program (ie. general rates).<\/p>\n

In December last year the SBRC called a halt to any further expenditure on the KTP this financial year.<\/strong><\/p>\n

A few remaining “final touches” to the project – such as the construction of a trailhead at O’Neill Square or the addition of street furniture – are expected to be funded from next year’s budget.<\/p>\n

Last December, staff estimated these final touches could cost a further $80,000 to $260,000.<\/p>\n

If enacted, this would bring the project’s final cost to between $17.72 million and $17.9 million.<\/p>\n

Footnote:<\/strong> When the KTP was first proposed in mid-2017 it was expected to cost $8 million, but by the time work began in January 2021 this budget had expanded to $13.6 million. However, material and labour shortages caused by the COVID pandemic and CPI increases of between 12 and 25.7 per cent – coupled with five extreme weather events – saw this revised figure balloon to $17.9 million. <\/p>\n

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