TRC’s forecast budget surplus reduced

Toowoomba Regional Council (TRC) has adopted an amended 2022/23 Annual Budget, which predicts a reduced surplus for this financial year.

A Special Meeting of Council was held last week to adopt the amended budget.

TRC Finance and Business Strategy Chair Cr Geoff McDonald (pictured) said when the Budget was adopted in June, a deficit of about $5.8 million was forecast.

“In October last year a re-forecast indicated we were looking at a surplus of almost $3.5 million and this has now been revised to a surplus of about $730,000,” Cr McDonald said.

“These changes within this financial year are a reflection of how challenging the current economic climate is at the moment.

“Over the past year we have seen inflation levels continue to rise and this has had a significant impact on our materials and services.”

Cr McDonald said an example of this is an additional $1.32 million spent to support the increases in prices of fuel and parts.

“We’ve also had to account for an additional $800,000 as part of our waste collection contracts which is also due to the increasing price of fuel,” Cr McDonald said.

“This is more than $2.1 million over a six-month period, which underlines how much the cost of living continues to