Cost of living pressures across our City, from rising inflation to interest rates, have been front of mind this year. This is why we are proposing a rates increase of 2.8 per cent – lower than the Victorian Government’s 3.5 per cent rates cap and well under the expected 4.5 per cent inflation rate.

While various options were considered, we believe a lower rate rise provides the best current, and ongoing financial relief, to our community. This is because whatever rate rise may follow in the future, it will be based off the lower 2.8 per cent figure.

The impact to our 23/24 draft Budget of adopting a lower rate rise is about $900,000. The accumulated impact over 10 years is $11 million less in rates collected.

This is the first time we have proposed an increase below the rates cap, introduced in 2016/17. It will not be funded by service cuts. Instead, we will put less into our reserve fund as a buffer for known and unexpected challenges over the next decade.

Unexpected extra income from revenue streams, including parking and investments, helped put us in a position to provide a balanced and responsible Budget.