Community urged to have input into Draft Council Budget

It’s time for the community to have their say on the Noosa Council draft 2022-23 Budget.

The $159 million budget focuses on continuing to provide over 100 services to the shire, create stronger connections to our community and deliver key infrastructure to make Noosa an even better place to live, work and play.

Mayor Clare Stewart said Council had worked extremely hard to propose a rate increase at CPI for a majority of ratepayers.

“We are proposing to peg the increase of the general rate at just below CPI and when all levies and waste charges are included, the total council rates bill sits at a 5.1% increase,

“This is in line with the current national CPI but is well below the Queensland CPI of 6%,” Cr Stewart said.

“Increased land valuations, the February floods and recovering from COVID-19 have created enormous challenges in drafting this budget,” she said.

Cr Stewart said Council had deliberately adopted a measured approach to the way it deals with the significant jump in land valuations to ease the burden on a majority of ratepayers.

“It’s been a triple whammy and the councillors have certainly scrutinised all areas while trying to meet community expectations.”

Council has allocated $42 million for an ambitious Capital Works program.

“This budget allows Council to continue to deliver what our community wants and expects in the future,” Cr Stewart said.

Councillors are now seeking community input on which areas or projects could be prioritised over others and what initiatives could be reduced, altered or deferred to achieve potential savings.

Cr Stewart said much of the draft document had been shaped on the detailed Liveability Survey conducted late last year.

“We had a fantastic response to this extensive survey, with over 1600 people sharing their views on what they care about in their neighbourhood,

The feedback has been valuable and has guided many of our discussions,” Cr Stewart said.

“Like many Councils, we have limited resources to deliver our priorities and meet community expectations, but we remain committed to working with our community to get the balance right,” the Mayor said.

Councillors will hold two Community Q & A sessions to gauge residents’ views. They are at Cooroy Library Wednesday June 1 between 11am and 1pm and at Noosaville Library Thursday June 2 between 10am and 2pm.

“It’s important we continue to lay the foundations to see our shire revive, thrive and recover from the recent natural disasters through prudent financial management,” Cr Stewart said.

“Community feedback is an extremely important part in finalising council’s budget, so I encourage every ratepayer to share ideas via the Your Say Noosa website,”

Consultation starts on Monday 23 May and closes midnight Sunday 5 June.