Published on Thursday, 2 July 2020 at 4:26:57 PM
2 July 2020
At a Special Council Meeting on 30 June 2020, the Town of East Fremantle adopted its budget for the coming financial year that has been cast with compassion and restraint, recognising the extraordinary financial circumstances facing both Council and the local community.
At the meeting, Mayor Jim O’Neill described the setting of the 2020/21 Budget as “a difficult process.”
“We have not been in anything like this previously. This is uncharted territory. What we have attempted to do is to set a budget with optimism, tempered with an understanding of what a lot of our community are currently facing financially and will continue to face,“ Mayor O’Neill said.
He thanked Chief Executive Officer, Gary Tuffin for his caring, forward-thinking and professional approach, and thanked Executive Manager Corporate Services, Peter Kocian, and his fellow Councillors and all staff, for developing a responsible and pro-active budget.
Highlights
Key points to note from Budget 2020/21 include financial restraint measures, specifically a zero percent increase in rate revenue, fees and charges, and wages and salaries for Town staff.
Despite keeping costs for residents to a minimum, Budget 2020/21 will deliver:
- A capital works program of $1.026m including $734k on infrastructure such as roads, footpath and drainage, $175k for a new bus to provide transport services for the Town’s Neighbourhood Link program, and $130k for the re-levelling of Preston Point Oval to improve oval standards
- The establishment of new reserves to create a future fund for major capital projects including the East Fremantle Oval redevelopment, implementation of the Preston Point Facilities Masterplan, implementation of the Foreshore Masterplan, as well as a Drainage Reserve to provide for major drainage upgrades in the Town
- An allocation of $80k against sustainability initiatives including the Community Climate Action Plan
- Significant funding for Strategic consultancies including:
- Major review of the Strategic Community Plan to set future priorities;
- Further development of detailed project documentation for the East Fremantle oval redevelopment;
- The development of a Commercial Strategy, Heritage Assessments, Leeuwin Barracks planning, Local Planning Strategy and Local Planning Scheme.
Other key points to note include that the Town intends to impose a system of differential rates for the coming financial year. Full details of how this might affect our community are available here.
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