THE Southern Grampians Shire Council held an unscheduled meeting on Wednesday night to adopt the 2022-23 Budget, but one councillor criticised some of the decision-making and said Council still could perform better for the community.

Community and Corporate Services director, Belinda Johnson, delivered the “very lengthy recommendation” for the budget as well as the Long-Term Financial Plan and Asset Plan, the key points being a provision for capital expenditure of $29.4 million, a 1.75 per cent rise in general rate revenue and the municipal charge estimated to increase from $206 to $209.

The shire released a statement afterwards claiming the budget was “bold” and said it “reflects a renewed focus and commitment to growth, renewal, and the delivery of major projects and services”.

But during the meeting, councillor Albert Calvano expressed concern about Council’s priorities and said its approach unnecessarily created “winners and losers”.

He used the purchase of the old Walkers Mitre 10 building on Lonsdale St for nearly $1.5 million “without any plans on what to do with (it)” as an example of questionable decision-making and said the money could be better spent on current problems such as the condition of footpaths on Gray Street.

Cr Calvano said he believed “the community would be more appreciative” if Council was “amending the problems that we have” rather than pursuing projects “in my opinion - and probably ratepayers - is a waste of money”.

He also criticised the state of Kurtzes Road to the east towards Tarrington and said he was disappointed to see it was “again missing out on allocation on money to seal the road”.

“The Infrastructure Design Manual which we adopted shows a road with between 50-150 trips per day should be sealed at four metres,” he said.

“Kurtzes Rd exceeds 90 trips per day (and it’s) still not sealed.

“It’s no wonder there’s been no submissions from the residents of Kurtzes Rd, maybe they have lost confidence in us.”

But other councillors such as Cr Helen Henry lauded the budget, calling the capital expenditure “responsible and equitable” but added “we must remain sustainable financially, making some difficult decisions in the coming years around our ageing assets” and be “innovative”.

Cr Greg McAdam agreed and said there were often “hard decisions to be made” with budgets being “large and complex” but did concur with Cr Calvano’s “winners and losers” term.

In response to the criticism about Kurtzes Road, Cr David Robertson said, “I drove up Kurtzes Road today and I must commend the staff of the Shire for having it in absolutely pristine condition.”

“There’s not one pothole there, it was magnificent,” he said.

Mayor, Bruach Colliton, also spoke in favour of the budget being “full of confidence” and said, “we want to invest in the future”.

“We’re investing in our arts and culture, we’re investing in sport and in tourism, and of course, our roads and footpaths,” he said.

“That is potentially going to be a difficult task, but I think with organisation, the Council are confident that we can pull this off.”

The 2022-23 Budget statement listed several key initiatives identified in the Council Plan 2021-2025, including completing construction of the serviced industrial land on Port Fairy Road, developing a new Cultural Arts Strategy and progressing the new Hamilton Art Gallery Project into detailed design.

Also mentioned is completing a Small Towns Strategy to provide clear direction on future planning in each of the smaller towns within the Shire, realising the adopted CBD Masterplan to enable construction in the future, and commencing design of a network of multiuse trails ready for grant applications.

The capital works expenditure highlights included progress with the construction of an Intergenerational Playground at the Hamilton Botanic Gardens, the redevelopment of the Melville Oval Precinct and implementing works associated with Council Buildings Asset Management Strategy.

“We believe this budget is both balanced and innovative, providing value for money for our ratepayers,” Cr Colliton said.

The adopted Budget, Long Term Financial Plan and Asset Plan will be available to view at sthgrampians.vic.gov.au and in hard copy at Council’s Brown Street office and the Greater Hamilton Library.