In preparing the 2022/23 Budget, Council has taken in to consideration the continuing impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, which was declared on 11 March 2020 by the World Health Organisation.
As discussed in last year’s Budget and in other documents over the past 24 months, the impact of the pandemic on Council has been profound. While Council has continued to provide the majority of its services during the various stages of the COVID-19 pandemic, the required long-term closures during 2020 and short reactive shutdowns during 2021, along with covid restrictions during the first half of 2022 has resulted in a cumulative loss of approximately $30 million across the 2020/21 2021/22 and 2022/23 financial years. These closures and shutdowns particularly impacted our leisure facilities, such as Karralyka, Aquanation, Aquahub, Ringwood and Dorset Golf, The Rings and Maroondah Nets that. It has also meant a redirection of resources and/or funding in excess of $10 million to respond to COVID-19 in the 2019/20, 2020/21 and 2021/22 financial years.
As a consequence the 2022/23 Budget has been reviewed to take in to account the financial outcomes of the previous two years, as well as the ongoing impacts for 2022/23. This includes a review of Council’s services, income and capital work projects, as well as a detailed review of the long term Financial Plan.
Under the Local Government Act 2020, Council is required to prepare the Financial Plan in accordance with its deliberative engagement practices. Over a period of six weeks, and ten sessions, a panel of 40 community members came together to deliberate on the topics of health and wellbeing; liveable communities; environment; and assets. The inputs and recommendations from this panel have informed the Financial Plan, Council Plan 2021-2025, and four-year budget and will also inform a range of Council’s future strategic work, projects and service delivery.
The 2022/23 budget contains 36 major initiatives as identified in the Council Plan. These initiatives will contribute to the achievement of the four-year Council Plan key directions and ultimately the outcomes as outlined in
Annual Budget
Annual Budget 2022/23 (pdf, 3MB)
Annual Budget 2022/23 (docx, 6MB)
Financial Plan
Financial Plan 2022/23 (pdf, 2MB)
Financial Plan 2022/23 (docx, 2MB)