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Wednesday, July 10, 2013
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RODEO FEATURE PAGES 11 TO 16
2013 MAREEBA RODEO JULY 12-14
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Tight budget
By Ryan Groube
M
Handing over the reins 2012 Queen Kendall Axford (left) and Princess Ebony Mitchell (right) fulfilled their last formal duties at the Mareeba Rodeo Ball on Friday night before new royalty is inducted. They are pictured with Mareeba Rodeo Association secretary Angie Sturgess. OUTSTANDING SMALL ACREAGES PRICED FROM $117,000 Town water, underground power, elevated with stunning views!
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ayor Rosa Lee Long said the days of council funding big ticket items are over as the Tablelands Regional Council (TRC) handed down a “conservative”, maintenance-heavy budget last week. Cr Lee Long said it would have been irresponsible for council to announce any major infrastructure projects without a full understanding of the financial landscape post de-amalgamation. The 2013-14 budget is based on the existing TRC for the next six months as well as separate budgets for the remnant TRC and new Mareeba Shire Council (MSC) from January 1, 2014. For the first six months of 2014, the MSC will have a total operating revenue of $27.5 million with $11.9 million of that made up of rates and charges. In the same period, the MSC will have expenses of $27.3 million contributing to a operational surplus for the first six months of $210, 365. The remnant TRC’s financial future is less clear because their figures for the first six months of 2014 have been included with the budget for the amalgamated council. Cr Lee Long said the reality is that it will take time for both councils to readjust to operating with a reduced rate base, evershrinking Federal and State Government grants and rising input costs. “Going into two separate little councils is going to be hard and I have no doubt will disadvantage the Tableland region,” she said. “What we needed to do with this budget was to get through the tunnel, wait for the
dust to settle and then gauge from there what sort of financial position we are in. “The reality is that as two small councils our borrowing capacity has taken a hit. We may find that, in time, we may be able to fund up to a certain amount for bigger projects again but it will be harder with this reduction in rateable properties.” The $101 million budget includes a heavily reduced capital works program of $35 million, the majority of which will be used to maintain existing roads, water and sewerage infrastructure and council buildings. The budget includes: 8.44 million for roads, drains, bridges and footpaths, $5.8 million for the replacement and renewal of plant and equipment, $7.9 million for maintaining parks and gardens as well as $2.3 million for the 11 library branches across the region. One of the biggest non-maintenance capital expenditure projects is $900,000 to extend the Atherton council chambers. Cr Lee Long said the expenditure was necessary to accommodate the increased staff that will be based in Atherton post deamalgamation. “It was prudent at this stage of the game to have no big capital expenditure. One of the biggest amounts is for the extension of the Atherton council chambers but it was either extend the building or purchase another one,” she said. “This is a budget where we have had to let those big projects fall by the wayside because there are too many unknowns moving towards us in the coming months.” Cr Lee Long said she was proud of the budget that council handed down and thanked staff for their efforts in challenging circumstances.
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