Council Budget 2025-26 adopted

Published on 26 June 2025

The 2025-26 Council Budget was adopted on Tuesday 24 June 2025.

Mayor Cr Steve Rabie said the budget was financially responsible and reflected the challenging economic environment while respecting resident and ratepayer funds.

“Council adopted the 2025-26 Budget after six months of thorough workshopping to ensure every dollar spent has been carefully considered,” said Cr Rabie.

“We have worked hard to deliver a rate rise of just 2.75 percent, which is lower than the cap set by the State Government’s ‘Fair Go Rates System’ cap of 3 percent. It is also lower than the real cost of inflation over the past year, which has been closer to 3.3 percent.

“We do this because we understand the cost pressures that exist in our community. We know the additional pressure our community is under, including from the ESVF tax.

“Money is not wasted in this Shire. Council has been able to reduce the costs to its residents and ratepayers by careful reviewing of its own expenses and considering how we make strategic changes to spending overall. For example, we reviewed the Council Expenses Policy to formalise that there is now no Mayoral vehicle. This was done to free up those important funds for community use.

“We’ve also managed to find important savings to waste. State Government charges are out of control and this is one area that we’ve been able to carefully and strategically help our community with strong local action.

“The EPA waste levy have increased significantly in recent years, from $33.03 per tonne in 2019-20 to $66.30 in 2024-25. There is a scheduled rise to $84.78 per tonne for the 2025-26 financial year, which is a 20% increase on last year. Despite this, Council’s cost of waste collection services actually reduced through the proactive, collaborative renegotiation of contracts with our primary provider of waste collection services.

“Not only have we made strategic decisions to reduce our spending, we have had to consider an intensive 4 year capital works program that needed to address longstanding legacy issues. This means we are now in a more sustainable position to maintain and renew assets. For example, instead of having to do significant work to fix our roads, we can maintain them in good condition with standard maintenance, such as laying gravel on the road regularly.

“As we do for every decision we make, particularly when we are considering how we spend ratepayer and resident funds, we have asked the community and listened carefully to what was said. As part of the budget consultation, we reviewed 117 submissions that came through from the community. We considered each and every submission carefully and some of them have been included in the budget.”

Some projects that were adopted from community submissions include:

• Extending the new shared footpath from Howqua Inlet to the Caravan Park in collaboration with community volunteers.
• Upgrade of Walshs Road, Goughs Bay with an additional 1km of road sealing, to be completed over the next 2 years in consultation with DEECA.
• Township Sealing Program continued with upgrades for Church Street and New Street, Mansfield.
• Extending shared paths along Piries-Goughs Bay Road to Mountain Bay Drive and along Mansfield.

The Capital Works program is worth $22.28 million, with $13.9 million from government grants and $99,000 from development contributions. Some of the key infrastructure projects that will be delivered as part of this budget include:

• Completing the IMPACT Route with Highton Lane and Rifle Butts Road works being finalised, including the construction of a new roundabout at the intersection with Monkey Gully Road.
• Progressing the Mansfield Heritage Museum, working with the Mansfield Historical Society and other project partners including Taungurung Land and Waters Council on the exhibit design and fit-out of the new building and other station precinct projects.
• Construction of a new roundabout at the black spot intersection of Dead Horse Lane and the Mansfield-Whitfield Road, which is a state government road that is managed by VicRoads, with a targeted full completion by the end of the year.
• Commencement of the construction of the Lords Reserve Pavilion and amenities upgrades at Lords Reserve and at the Mansfield Sporting Complex changerooms so that all users of these important sporting and recreational spaces can benefit.
• Design and construction of a new bridge on Greenvale Lane for pedestrians, cyclists and equestrians and more funding for bridges and culverts to address longstanding issues.
• Upgrade of the access road at the Mansfield Resource and Recovery Centre, improving the experience for all users who access this important service.
• Installation of solar panels and batteries at the Mansfield Sporting Complex and other key locations as part of our Climate Action Plan.

Other major programs of work for the 2025-26 financial year include: 

• Working with our community to finalise the Delatite Valley Plan and progress plans for a riverside green space and public park in Merrijig.
• Continuing the successful spring clean-up event for green waste (disposal free of charge) and tip vouchers for free disposal of green waste at the Resource Recovery Centre once per year.
• Streamlining our health and wastewater permit systems to make it easier to apply for permits, make payments and track applications, as part of our digital transformation program. This puts systems in place that mean we can deal with regional growth in a more efficient way.
• Further increased funding for weed management, controlling weeds such as blackberry and Paterson’s curse, with a continued focus on European Wasp control following the successful community collaboration last year.

There is an underlying deficit of $93,000 described in this budget for 2025-26, which is dependent on the timing of income related to grant funding. The annual report for 2024-25 is forecast to show an underlying surplus of $2.495 million. This is all in alignment with Council’s ten-year financial plan.

Mayor Cr Rabie said he encouraged community members to consider Council’s financial strategy.

“The strategy assumes an average and not the ups and downs in accounting that occur with large grant income timed irregularly. In future years, an expanded capital program supported by successful grant funding continues to demonstrate an underlying surplus,” said Cr Rabie.

“We are doing more with every dollar and this budget demonstrates our continued commitment to listening and delivering bang for your buck.

“Council has resolved long-term legacy issues and completed a backlog of projects. We’re meeting higher community expectations and making strong decisions to ensure a stable and strategic long-term financial position,” said Cr Rabie.