Guide To Your Council Plan And Budget

What is the Council Plan and Budget?

The Council Plan 2021-2031 is a 10-year strategic roadmap that guides everything we do for our community and includes important elements such as our Community Vision, Municipal Health and Wellbeing Plan, Revenue and Rating Plan and Budget. It provides a solid foundation for the continued rollout of community projects, services, and initiatives.

Every year, in consultation with the community, we review and revise the Council Plan and we create a Budget to assist us in meeting our strategic objectives.

The importance of Year 4

Although the Council Plan is a 10-year document, it operates in four-year cycles. This is because the document needs to be completely redrafted every time a new Council is elected, to ensure it continues to accurately reflect the vision of our councillors and community.

That means, that not many major changes were proposed for 2024/25 because it is the final year of the current four-year planning cycle. Instead, the focus was on developing an annual Budget that responds to the dynamic financial environment and delivers on existing initiatives and projects.

What to expect for Year 4

Following extensive community consultation, the proposed amendments for Year 4 (2024/25) of the Council Plan and Budget were officially endorsed on 26 June 2024. Some key amendments included changes to:

• local rates
• the Rating Strategy and differential rates
• waste charges
• Victorian Government’s Fire Service Levy
• project investments
• Council indicators.

Thank you to everyone who contributed to the review and revision of the Council Plan and Budget (Year 4) documents, including the 382 individuals and groups who took the time to have their say.

Please see our Have Your Say page for the full engagement report.

Key changes for Year 4

• Local rates

  Rates are set to increase by an average of 2.75 per cent in 2024/25. This is in line with the rates cap which was also set at 2.75 per cent, is lower than the increase untaken in 2023/24 and is less than forecast inflation.*

  *	Annual rates cap	Annual rates increase	Projected inflation in Melbourne	Shortfall (rates increase vs inflation)
  2024/25	2.75%	2.75%	>3.40%	(0.65%)

  As inflation continues to trend higher than the annual rates cap set by the Minister of Local Government, it becomes an ongoing financial challenge to fund the shortfall.

  Council will fill this shortfall on behalf of the community. Rather than funding it through service cuts, we will focus on the careful management and prioritisation of expenditure, and appropriate use of borrowing and reserves.

• The Rating Strategy and differential rates

  This year, Council conducted a detailed review of the Rating Strategy 2022-25 and associated differential rates.

  The review found that although the strategy is working as intended, there’s room for improvement in how land is being categorised. Previously, rateable land and property were divided into three categories:

  • residential
  • commercial and retail
  • industrial.

  However, from 2024/25 three new categories will be added to this list. These new categories will incur higher rates:

  • Derelict land – buildings that are left in a state of disrepair or that cause loss of neighbourhood amenity or safety.
  • Unactivated retail land – shops that have not been open for trade form more than 24 consecutive months.
  • Vacant land – land that has not been developed in a timely manner.

  Note: See Volume 2 of the Council Plan and Budget (Year 4) for full definitions of each category.

  The rates for derelict land and unactivated retail land will be 400 per cent (or four times) higher than residential rates; and rates for vacant land will be 300 per cent (or three times) higher than residential rates. This will not make a difference to the total rates revenue collected by Council.

  These changes have been made to improve the local area’s vibrancy, amenity, and safety through disincentivising leaving land unused. It is also expected to promote more equitable rates distribution outcomes.

  Fast fact: Since consultation, the number of properties classified as vacant land, derelict land or unactivated retail land has reduced by more than 10 per cent, suggesting that the updated rating strategy is already encouraging local development.

  While differential rates will apply from 1 July 2024, property and landowners can be exempt from paying them the following year if they have undertaken activities such as participating in a retail “pop-up”, improving a derelict property or progressing construction to the framing stage. An appeals process will also be available.

• Waste charges

  Waste charges will increase by 2.72 per cent to $203.60 (below the rates cap and projected inflation), which follows rising waste costs being experienced by all councils.

  Local waste charges will also include:

  • FOGO collection charge – $68
  • Annual garbage charge (per non-rateable property)- $450
  • Annual garbage charge (per property with a 240-litre non-recyclable waste bin) – $255

  We’ve also refined the waste charge structure to achieve outcomes that are fairer, more efficient to administer and simpler for everyone to understand. This has resulted in separately titled car spaces and storage areas no longer incurring waste charges from 2024/25.

• Victorian Government’s Fire Service Levy

  The Victorian Government’s Fire Services Levy is included in Council’s rates notices and collected by Council on behalf of the State Revenue Office.

  The 2024/25 levy changes include:

  • The fixed component of the Fire Service Levy being set to increase between 5.1 per cent to 5.6 per cent, depending on property type.
  • The variable component of the Fire Service Levy being set to increase between 4 per cent for industrial properties to 89 per cent for residential properties.

  Most residential properties will see an increase between $30 to $140 depending on the value of their property.

  Please note: These are not Council charges, and we therefore have no control over the increase amount.

• Project investments

  Project investments of $114.3 million have been made to maintain, grow and improve services and assets, including investments for:

  • Public space – over $44.9 million for the acquisition of public open space to cater for Council’s growing population.
  • CCTV – $800,000 over the next three years to replace Closed-Circuit Television (CCTV) equipment nearing the end of its functional life.
  • Major projects – updated budget and timing for the delivery of a range of capital projects over the next 10 years, including:
    • EcoCentre redevelopment
    • South Melbourne Town Hall redevelopment
    • Shrine to Sea – Kerferd Road forecourt and median works
    • St Kilda Pier landside works
    • Elder Smith netball courts and pavilion.

  Following consultation, the following projects were also added to the 2024/25 Budget:

  • Elwood Park Tennis Club – $85,000 towards proposed capital works including $60,000 to install a tree root barrier and $25,000 towards asset renewal works.
  • South Melbourne Symphony Orchestra – To provide them $9,000 per annum commencing 2024/25, for three-years, to cover the budget shortfall caused by the need to rent a space outside the municipality while the South Melbourne Town Hall undergoes works.

• Council indicators

  For 2024/25, we reviewed the phrasing and added measurement frequencies to all Council indicators, to ensure accurate descriptions and data reporting was being provided. This resulted in minor amendments to the description of all 27 indicators.

  Additionally, changes were made to the Council Plan and Budget (Year 4) to mirror the updates undertaken in the Local Government Reporting Framework (LGPRF), including adding six indicators and removing six indicators.

  The following six indicators were added:

  • Recently purchased library collection items.
  • Library loans per population.
  • Library membership per population.
  • Library visits per head of population.
  • Infant enrolments in MCH service.
  • Percentage of food samples obtained per required number of food samples.

  The following six indicators were removed because they were retired or replaced in the LGPRF or because data is no longer available:

  • Proportion of residents who agree Port Phillip has a culture of creativity.
  • Active library borrowers in the municipality.
  • Physical library collection usage.
  • Percentage of participants accessing sport and recreation programs who are female or gender diverse.
  • Proportion of residents satisfied with parks and open space.
  • Kerbside bin collection requests.

Where to access the Council Plan and Budget (Year 4) documents

You can access the full suite of Council Plan and Budget (Year 4) documents on our Council Plan and Budget webpage.