Published on Friday, 30 July 2021 at 2:06:18 PM
Council unanimously adopted the 2021-2022 Budget at Tuesday night’s Ordinary Council Meeting, committing $125.5 million towards servicing and developing the community over the next 12 months.
The modest and sustainable budget comes on the back of Council’s responsible and resilient financial management of the past two years as it has strived to support its community through a challenging climate.
Incorporating a modest 1.5% rate rise following the 0% increase last year, Mayor Dennis Wellington said the Budget will position the City to be future driven and continue building and growing our city while minimising the financial impacts of Covid-19.
“The City of Albany has continued to deliver achievements that are setting up our city for the future, ensuring we are building an inclusive, sustainable and dynamic community,” he said.
“We’re proud of what we’re achieving, and so is our community who has ranked the City as the highest performing regional Local Government in Western Australia. That’s a fantastic result and one we’re committed to upholding in coming years, and this Budget sets the foundation for that.”
Over $19 million has been allocated to Albany’s extensive road network to support renewal, upgrade, maintenance and expansion as well as delivering the Great Southern Motorplex, Mounts Masterplan and a host of community events as well as planning for Albany’s Bicentenary in 2026.
Chief Executive Officer Andrew Sharpe said Council had shown strong leadership in the way it had managed the pressures of the pandemic and made very measured and responsible decisions that supported ratepayers and residents.
“It is ensuring that our financial foundations and support for community remain and we can continue to provide quality service and facilities at a time of ongoing uncertainty and change,” he said.
Mr Sharpe said one of the challenges that will continue across the next financial year is capacity pressures within industry to deliver large-scale infrastructure projects.
“The City has welcomed significant funding injections from the Federal Government over the past year as part of its strategy to stimulate the economy, but with existing large scale projects like the Albany Ring Road our community is experiencing contractor shortages,” he said.
“Because of this we’ve had to carry forward a large number of works into this Budget, which we remain committed to delivering while also managing those challenges. We have a track record of achieving infrastructure improvements of scale and quality and we’ll continue that.”
Included in the Budget is more than $19 million towards the renewal, upgrade, maintenance and expansion of our road network, and funding for the Great Southern Motorplex, Mounts Masterplan, Albany’s 2026 Bicentenary, community events and more.
“The City will continue to become cleaner and greener as our new Food Organics, Garden Organics waste system is rolled out which is estimated will divert 30 per cent of our household waste away from landfill each year,” Mr Sharpe said.
“We’ve also budgeted towards the replacement of around 4,000 streetlights with advanced LED technology, which will cut electricity bills by 40% and carbon emissions by 560 tonnes per year.”
Mayor Wellington said Albany was a community that is proud, creative and growing.
“We’re a City that encourages big ideas, and welcomes people from all culture and backgrounds. A City that is compassionate and works to lift each other up.
“The increasing layers of community development and culture are making Albany a very attractive and liveable regional city.”
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