Last month council endorsed the release of the 2024-25 proposed budget for public exhibition.
The production of the budget is one of the biggest tasks for Council each year, and I am so thankful to my councillor colleagues and officers for the tireless work they have put in to getting it to this point.
As this is a draft budget, it is now open for the community to provide feedback and let us know their thoughts.
Like many organisations council is operating in a challenging financial climate as we continue to experience the impacts of global inflation and substantially higher costs.
And like all sustainable organisations, when we plan our expenditure, we must do so with both the present and the future in mind.
As such we have taken a very careful and considered approach to developing the draft budget and have landed on what is a very positive result.
It features strong investment in facilities and services that our growing community values highly.
Locally, one of the highlights for me is the $3.5 million allocated to the Ocean Grove Bike Track.
Plans for such a facility in Ocean Grove have been around for several years following the creation of a high number of unsafe jumps during the COVID lockdowns.
There has been so much work completed in the past few years on this project, both from officers and the community.
There have been numerous engagement sessions and the formation of a Community Reference Group to look at where the best location would be to house this facility.
Upon completion, the centre will contain features such as dirt jumps, an asphalt pump track and a skills trail.
The ride centre will also aim to cater for riders of all skill levels, while meeting the needs of those users of makeshift jumps in the town.
It is important that we encourage people to be active and providing facilities such as this one is a key part of catering to bike riders living in the Bellarine as well as contributing to the overall health of the community.
The proposed budget is available for community feedback until 5pm on Wednesday May 22 via geelong.link/Budget24-25
All submissions will be considered before the final budget is presented to council for consideration during our June meeting.
