2023/24 Noosa Council Budget Process Consultation Feedback

I note that we are meeting on the traditional lands of the Kabi Kabi people and I pay my respects to elders past, present and emerging. I note that we have everyone in attendance this morning. Today's Special Meeting is to consider Noosa Council's 2023-2024 budget adoption. The first item on our agenda is item 2.1. Meeting on the traditional lands of Noosa Council budget process consultation feedback. We have the Acting Director Corporate Services, Trent Grauf, in attendance. Trent, could you give us a summary of the report, please?

Frank Wilkie7:18

Yeah Thank you. Madam Mayor. Look I commend staff for conducting the budget consultation process. I'll just express a personal opinion that I believe that the budget consultation process, although it's not mandatory over the last three years, it's proved very useful in helping us to see whether or not we've got the balance and the mix right. Red in constant read in concert with other surveys such as the feedback we received for the Corporate Plan and the Liveability Survey, it did show that we're on track, it's very useful feedback, even though the numbers of respondents have diminished over the last three years. Think it's still a good show of good faith and good governance that we do offer the consultation process for feedback and it does it will also provide the opportunity for us to see whether we there's anything we have missed. And I don't think I'd be alone suggesting in that we should continue with the process even though it's not a mandatory one.

Okay, I'll speak to it. It's going to take a little longer than five minutes, but it was definitely under 10. Good morning, my fellow Councillors, CEO and staff. It is with pleasure that I recommend this council's fourth budget as Mayor of Noosa Shire. The budget we vote on today a is collective collaborative one arising from the hard work and wisdom of many. It's a budget that has undergone robust debate, scrutiny, feedback from our community and is quite simply a reflection of our collective values. I'd like to acknowledge all my fellow Councillors who have worked tirelessly. Over the past few months. I would also like to acknowledge our Acting Director Corporate Services. Trent Grauf and Pauline Coles and our acting financial services manager. Who have walked this journey every step of the way with us. Thank you for your ongoing support, advice and expertise. Noosa Shire Council budget 2023-2024, just like our previous three budgets, has not been without its challenges. In fact, it's been our toughest yet, and perhaps the toughest since de-amalgamation. This year we continue to deliver an $80 million flood recovery program, with inflationary pressures and massive land valuation increases for the second consecutive year. In fact, re-evaluation of land by the State government for a second year in a row has seen average land values increase by over 62% across our Shire. This year we have, like last, weathered much. But like our Shire, like our community, this budget is one of resilience and recovery. And above all, it's about investment. Into our community, our environment, our economy, our businesses and our budget has a renewed focus on significant foundations, renewing and maintaining infrastructure, helping pensioners, maintaining our liveability to ensure a bright future for our Shire, a focus on back to basics, grassroots spending where our community needs it most. Prior to today, just as we have for the past two years, we took our draft budget to our community. Armed with the feedback from significant community consultation through our recently adopted Corporate Plan, which informed budget priorities during its development as budget feedback, it was clear that our community wanted many things, all of which were already addressed in the draft budget through initiatives and actions. And if they weren't, as we've heard about the alliance, we can take them as operational down the track. Budget figures. Today's record $171.7 million budget incorporates an operating expenditure budget of $132.3 million and a capital works budget of $39.4 million, which includes loan repayments $1.2 million. The significant capital program is on top of the $80 million suite of flood recovery works funded by the Queensland Reconstruction Authority. Importantly, it complies with our financial sustainability while there are significant investments, there is a necessary rate increase. Like our fellow councils across Queensland, we are not immune to the rising costs and rising challenges of our current environment. Like all households and businesses, our Council has had to bear current inflationary conditions, construction costs which have risen by as much as 30% for construction and rising utility charges. In saying that, the average residential ratepayer faces a 5.5% increase on their total rates notice, equivalent to an $1.72 per week. In fact, 4,000 property owners will have a drop in their total rates bill because of the mechanisms implemented to combat the unprecedented land valuations. 75% of ratepayers will have an average rate rise which is lower than CPI. Although we did our absolute best and most to reduce the impact of state land valuations, a number of outlying properties were unable to be captured and will incur a significant rate rise. Hard we have all worked to keep rates as low as possible as we understand the impact that rising living costs have had on our community, and that is why we are resolute in our commitment to consolidating the pensioner rebates and giving nearly five thousand of our pensioners a helping hand. All eligible pensioners now receive the full rebate of two hundred and thirty dollars per year whether they are a single or a couple pensioner. Our role, our vision is to help where we can and we continue to help our elderly, something we are all proud of. Continuing with our commitment to keep rates as low as possible, we have put a freeze on all levies to help minimise the financial impact on ratepayers. We continue to deliver record amounts of capital projects. This year's budget includes an ambitious $39.4 million investment in capital works on top of the $80 million. Roads and transports are the big focus with $10.3 million worth of projects followed closely by environment, waste and resource recovery programs which will see an $8.15 million spend. Delivering almost $120 million of infrastructure projects in just 12 months is no easy feat. We're fortunate that an incredibly skilled infrastructure team that last year delivered a record capital program despite difficult and challenging economic conditions. Are at the helm once again. $6.04 million will be spent on bridges. A further $1.57 million will be spent on pathways and boardwalks and public amenities will receive upgrades amounting to $1.49 million. Other key capital work projects include $4 million.3 million for the Shire road reseal program and $475,000 to continue the Shire-wide gravel road re-sheeting program. Ed Webb Park Sunshine Beach upgrade at $609,000. Noosaville foreshore stormwater renewals $525,000. Noosa Heads Dog sand erosion beach management plan $500,000. $460,000 investment to build missing links in the hinterland pathway network delivering on our commitment to our Walking and Cycling Strategy. $80,000 renewing the shire's barbecues. $100,000 to renew park furniture and $40,000 for park shelter maintenance. Noosaville's Apex fitness equipment will receive $131,000 in upgrading and modernising. $45,000 will be put aside for restoration of the Noosa Botanic Gardens. $61,000 for beach shower renewals and $250,000 to improve beach access. Return our minds to other big-ticket items in this year's budget. Our focus is firmly on our war on waste. This budget sees an investment of just over $3.6.6 million to complete the expansion of the Eumundi-Noosa Road landfill cell, as well as an additional $1.2 million investment to expand the green waste and industrial waste processing and storage areas, and develop a new area for the display, sale and loading of processed and recycled materials, including a feasibility study into resource recovery options, such as the polystyrene processing machine. The majority of Council members with the majority of council's carbon emissions resulting from our landfill, we can, with the right strategy in place, the right initiatives undertaken, turn this essential service into an opportunity to be innovative, forward thinking and proactive. This budget provides for just that, liveability and the environment. A newly adopted Corporate Plan highlights the importance of our environment. Funds to continue and nurture our natural environment are a critical component of this budget. Investment in land conservation and rehabilitation work is up 50% to facilitate more Land for Wildlife and Voluntary Conservation Agreements. Funding for environmental grants is increased by 6%. In this budget Council continues its partnership funding arrangements for a range of conservation projects such as Noosa River planning, Flora and fauna monitoring and developing a sea turtles conservation strategy. An ongoing science-based water quality monitoring program, an ongoing vegetation mapping review to identify critical bushfire hazards and informed conservation are also part of this year's budget. Our community programs are paramount and also feature prominently in this year's budget. Around 15.2 million of our budget is being spent to operate libraries, community facilities, to provide community development services. Of this we are continuing with funding of our Living Well Noosa program. Continuing with our Go Noosa free weekend buses. Undertaking master planning for our Noosa Botanic Gardens and progressing our destination plan. We've also provided $465,000 for heritage and restoration upgrades to the Cooroy Butter Factory. The J will get a new air conditioning system and the heat pump at the Noosa Aquatic Centre is also earmarked. We are also continuing with our feasibility study for a new regional art gallery and a business case. Our business community, largely small businesses, are very much the lifeblood of this Shire over seven thousand of them. They continue to be supported. This budget reaffirms our commitment to our business community with implementation of a small business friendly Council program, education and industry development program, green economy as well as a digital connectivity investigation. This is all in addition to our ongoing industry support and economics grants. Special interests: we all have a few favoured projects or things we are most proud of. For me, my mind turns to the following: fire management and safety. The Bushfire Resilience and Response Levy is in its third year now and continues to provide valuable programs to mitigate bushfire risk on Council bushland reserves through controlled burns and fire trial maintenance. Capital spending on sports and recreation. Designs for the upgrade of Cooroy Sports Complex will progress to completion over this year and Council will also undertake a much-needed future needs assessment of the Noosa Leisure Centre to ensure Council can cater for the growing demands of indoor sport and active recreation in the future. River support: investigation into the upgrade and replacement of the jetty at Noosa Woods is something I'm looking forward to as it progresses to completion over the coming year. Its potential lies in increasing transport solutions via river travel. Salvation: the past three years I've used the mantra save where we can to spend where we must. It's an ideal I still espouse. This year like the last three years have put a focus on delivering tangible outcomes for our community, providing grassroots style projects that will make a difference to the lives of our residents. This budget does this and it more. Has a firm back-to-basics approach. Considering the challenges we have faced, I'm incredibly proud to be delivering alongside all Councillors a budget of this calibre, which is another investment in enhancing our lifestyle and providing a bright future. In closing, I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Deputy Mayor and my fellow Councillors for their deliberations and sensible approach to formulating this budget. As I said, it is very much a collective process and has been a collective budget. I believe this budget is a good one and we have all worked very hard together to achieve I'd also like to thank the Council management team for their detailed work in preparing this budget. Special thanks go to our Acting CEO Larry Sengstock and our hard-working finance team led by Trent Grauf and Pauline Coles and also to our executive team who have worked so incredibly hard on this budget. A great team effort by so many of our wonderful staff. The collective efforts of so many to get us here today has not gone unnoticed. It is appreciated and it is acknowledged. As Councillors we are all very grateful. In registering appreciation it should be noted that we continue to remain in surplus. We have about. We have a modest operating surplus of $121,000. This is a remarkable result because of what has continued to be at such challenging financial contexts. A quote I've used in the past, so please allow me a little latitude, is one that I think is still current. A budget is more than just a series numbers on a page. It is an embodiment of our values. To our community, it is you who we value, and it is with you in mind this budget was crafted. On behalf of all our Council team, I commend it for adoption. Thank you. Oh, hear, hear. Would anyone else like to speak?

Through Chair the check budget each year process in November December we look at how we undertake the process so we will obviously sit down with the Council and look at the process next year at this point in time I'm not looking to change or revoke that engagement process I think the important part is to make sure that through our community engagement we focus on those key strategic engagement processes and we have done that very well through the Corporate Plan the Liveability Survey the Waste Strategy which is underway at the moment they're the key pieces to obviously ensure that we get appropriate community feedback at this point through the budget I think that feedback is important you'll find that as you look back over previous years with the engagement often it's a key topic or a key operational issue that gets a focus through the feedback I think what you'll find this year one interpretation that's unsure what's driven the changes in terms of feedback is there haven't been as many topical operational issues or topical changes to our rating structure apart from the pressures evaluation this you.

Good morning, Councillors. The first agenda item this morning is the budget engagement consultation outcomes. The 2023-24 budget has followed a two-stage engagement process similar to last year. The stage one process was the significant consultation and major piece of work through development of the useful plan which elicited over a thousand responses. Last year the pre-budget engagement process was the Liveability Survey which similarly elicited 22,000 responses. The stage process which is before you today is regarding the draft budget engagement. This elicited only 40 responses this financial year which is all the previous years at 170,166 and 147 responses respectively. We followed similar channels for engagement this year per previous years including face-to-face sessions, emails and an online survey. We recognise this is a low statistical validity for survey but I think it's important to remember that the draft budget has followed the Corporate Plan engagement and as you'll see through the as the last agenda item this morning, a lot of those outcomes in the Corporate Plan are feeding through this financial year. Now, the report provided for you here this morning includes a summary of the feedback topics and a summary actions of in relation to that. One of the key outcomes noted in that report is that a lot of the responses reflected projects and expenditure already included and provided for in the draft budget. This included additional investment in core infrastructure maintenance renewals for additional funding for civil operations for maintenance as well as additional staff for parks and landscape. Significant number of waste initiatives, environment initiatives to increase conservation and wildlife preservation, primarily through increased initiatives through the Environment Levy, the adoption of the encouragements policy, Transport Strategy initiatives, increased funding for accessibility through new Changing Places amenities and accessibility park furniture along Gympie Terrace foreshore and additional investment. To improve tenant gardens through staff. Resource and master plan. This feedback, these feedback results it. Were a workshop with the Councillors and no further changes were proposed. For the draft a result, the draft budget presented in front of you reflects the final budget as adopted today.