Moira Shire Council has developed a ten year framework to protect assets, meet the needs of a growing municipality and achieve long term financial sustainability. The framework is outlined in the 2004/05 to 2013/014 Strategic Resource Plan.
The plan has 25 recommendations covering financial indicators, long term borrowing, notional reserves, rating and revenue strategies, asset management, capital works, service provision and financial planning.
The main objectives of the plan are:
- maintaining the existing range and level of service provision and the capacity to grow and add new services.
- maintaining a strong cash position, ensuring Council remains financially sustainable in the long term
- achieving operating statement surpluses with the exclusion of all non operational items such as granted assets and capital income
- maintaining debt levels below prudential guidelines
- continuing to pursue recurrent grant funding for strategic capital funds from the State and Federal Government
- introducing rate increases that establish a funding level for a sustainability index of 100 per cent, including increasing funding for capital works (asset renewal, expansion, upgrade) and asset maintenance.
Consultation
Moira Shire Council presented the Strategic Resource Plan to the community for input in April. A proposal for a one off 16 per cent rate increase followed in future years by CPI plus three per cent attracted the most attention.
Councillors listened to community feedback and made some amendments to the Strategic Resource Plan including a ten per cent increase in rate revenue and the deferral of a tourism/economic development charge for further investigation.
Council also made a commitment to invest the entire rate rise into capital works. The Strategic Resource Plan is available from Council’s web site at www.moira.vic.gov.au or by contacting Nicole McCormick on (03) 5871 9222.
