Council adopted a rate revenue increase for the 2010/11 Financial Year which allowed Whitehorse to continue to provide quality services and facilities that meet the growing needs of the community.
The increase was in line with the Long Term Financial Plan. This plan provides a practical and fiscally-responsible policy position taken by Council to ensure that Whitehorse is able to deliver quality services and capital works that will meet the needs of its diverse community for many years to come and fulfil Council’s requirements set by the Victorian Auditor General’s Office.
The key elements to ensuring Council’s financial sustainability are stable rate increases, progress towards achieving an underlying operating surplus and a priority on renewal capital works.
Council’s Long Term Financial Plan for the years 2009/10 to 2012/13 has the objective of moving from an operating deficit to an operating surplus while maintaining an increase in the renewal capital works program.
For 2009/10, Council achieved an underlying surplus of $1.8 million which is a positive step towards achieving its financial sustainability objectives.
In 2009/10 Council’s spending on capital renewal increased from $17 million in 2008/09 to $19.9 million.
The renewal gap ratio, a financial sustainability measure which compares renewal expenditure with depreciation, increased from 0.86:1 in 2008/09 to 0.99:1 in 2009/10. This indicates that Council is spending on renewing, restoring and replacing existing assets at almost the same rate as assets are depreciating.
