Alongside the 2025-2026 Yarra Ranges Council Budget passed at the Tuesday 10 June council meeting, the council also passed its 2025-2026 Revenue and Ratings Plan.
At the meeting, an amended motion for the Revenue and Ratings Plan was put forward to alter the date by which council rates could be paid in full from 30 September out to 28 February and after some disruption from the gallery, the motion was carried unanimously.
Here’s an overview of the financial position of the council ahead of the next financial year and what changes they have made to the fees and charges ratepayers can face.
Yarra Ranges Council is forecasting total Revenue of $258 million and total expenditure of $242.8 million with rates ($190.728 million) by far the greatest source of revenue and materials and services ($107.021 million) and employee costs ($82.761 million) the most significant expenses. Yarra Ranges Council chose to adopt the three per cent maximum rate increase in line with the state government-imposed cap back when the draft budget was released in March.
The council’s Total Comprehensive Result is subsequently a $15.2 million surplus, which includes funding related to the capital works program but not its capital expenditure. The $58.3 million Capital Works Program will have $31 million funded by rates, $8 million through borrowings, $1.6 million through community contributions (eg: sporting clubs) and $17.7 million through external grants.
Yarra Ranges Council has allowed for a $2.5 million underlying operating deficit this year due to their future projections predicting a positive result in future years and has a cash balance of $27.6 million.
One question was put to council at the meeting about the decision to operate at a deficit by Sebastian Quezada, asking why the councils chooses to fund more than it can afford, which was answered by Yarra Ranges Council’s corporate services director Vince Lombardi.
“Council continues to assess the levels of service delivered and maintenance undertaken across the Shire on an annual basis, this approach has been taken to maintain levels of service and maintenance infrastructure for the upcoming 25/26 year, despite the financially constrained environment Council is facing,” Mr Lombardi said.
“Operational efficiencies will continue to be explored and, where necessary, leveraged to ensure service levels and maintenance infrastructure are not impacted.”
Per $100 of rates income this financial year, the council predicts it will spend:
$18.16 on Capital Works renewal projects
$12.24 on roads, drains and footpath maintenance
$10.59 on parks, gardens and recreation
$9.52 on customer and corporate support
$7.43 on new Capital Works projects
$6.78 on property and facility management
$6.17 on health, aged and family services
$5.87 on environment projects
$5 on community recovery
$4.78 on animal management, community safety, public health and compliance,
$4.71 on planning
$2.80 on Creative Communities projects
$2.34 on community partnerships, development and engagement
$1.96 on libraries
$0.88 on vibrant communities and tourism
$0.77 on civic governance
Kallista resident Ray Lister also asked a question about rates, asking for an audit of all the rates he has paid since 1981 when he became a local ratepayer against the services he has received, believing the only return he gets is the regrading of his road, with Mr Lombardi responding again.
“Council is responsible for maintaining and delivering services and infrastructure for the entire community, rates are collected to fund the overall services and infrastructure provided by Yarra Ranges Council and not tied to individual usage,” Mr Lombardi said.
“While some specific services and facilities may have additional charges, paying rates is not dependent on personal use, this system ensures that we can continue to provide essential services and maintenance and maintain infrastructure for the benefit of our large and diverse community now and into the future,”
“For completeness, council isn’t able to provide an individualised audit of council services that one individual or a ratepayer has accessed over the last 44 years.”
