Geelong council has approved its 2023-24 budget, fully restoring funding for lifesavers but only partially so for the Geelong Regional Library Corporation (GRLC).
At a tense and sometimes fractious council meeting on Tuesday councillors by turns goaded and attempted to soothe a public gallery bent on having its voice heard.
Before council adopted what Cr Belinda Moloney called “a real spicy budget”, Save Geelong West Library spokesperson Angela Carr warned voters would remember councillors’ words and actions when next year’s election came around.
“Tonight we are asking councillors to think very carefully about voting in this budget because you will be doing so against the wishes of the broader library community,” she said.
“You need to remember that we vote you in or vote you out. So we are asking councillors to take this matter very seriously and commit to fully funding libraries.”
Council ultimately approved the budget, with only Cr Melissa Cadwell voting against it.
While the GRLC will face a shortfall of $406,000, council reversed its proposal to slash funding paid lifeguard services at Ocean Grove, Bancoora and 13th Beach.
Ocean Grove Life Saving Club president Lyndie Freestone said the funding ensures the rostering of paid lifesavers over the peak summer period.
“We’re greatly relieved and appreciative; obviously it had significant implications for our beach and our community,” she said.
“We’re appreciative of the support that we got from the community, those who were also concerned about the libraries, as well as (federal MP) Libby Coker.”
Barwon Heads 13th Beach Surf Life Saving Club junior development manager Michael Schofield said the club was “tremendously glad” at the council’s turnaround.
“The decision by council was really reckless and ill-conceived from the beginning; it went against so many of the statistics that Life Saving Victoria provide in their reports each year,” he said.
Geelong mayor Trent Sullivan said there were “no unassigned dollars in the budget”.
“We are spending the same large, assigned amount that was put forth at the start of this council term,” he said.
“The problem is, as with all of our dollars, it just doesn’t go as far as it used to.” he said.
“Every dollar has to come from somewhere. When it comes to decision making, we must… make sure that the dollar is getting the best value and that we are putting as much as we can into the deserved areas.”
