Each year, Council is required to develop a four-year budget that outlines the expected income and expenditure required to deliver services and infrastructure over that time period. The first year of the four year budget is final. The second, third and fourth years are updated annually.

What do we want to know from you?

Last year, Council undertook the 'Ballarat: Our Future' community engagement campaign to inform the development of our key strategic documents including the Community Vision, Council Plan, Financial Plan, Asset Plan (in development) and Health and Wellbeing Plan. We had almost 2,000 responses to the first stage of engagement and then engaged a representative community panel to provide even more direct input.

The Council Plan strongly reflects this community feedback and sets out the work that Council will undertake over the next four years.

We would like your input on the priority areas of the Council Plan that we should focus on the 2022-2023 financial year. See the survey links at the bottom of the page.

What should I know before I give you my thoughts?

Two of the largest sources of Council income are rates and government grants. Rates provide critical revenue for the City of Ballarat to deliver over 80 services and $130.9 million in capital works. The diagram below shows how many dollars are allocated to each key area for every one hundred dollars spent.

There are a lot of considerations when developing the Council budget - these include:

• the impact on rate capping on the ability to pay increasing costs
• the impact of a growing community and the need to provide new and upgraded roads, parks, drains and other infrastructure
• maintaining and renewing our $2 billion worth of assets
• continuing to deliver the services we are legally required to provide
• continuing to deliver our existing services to a growing community
• the option of borrowing money to cover costs, particularly for large projects

The video below explains these considerations in a little more detail:

How do I find out more?

Click through the different sections of this page to find out more. You will find Council's current budget and annual report under the 'Important Links' section. You can also 'stay informed' about the project by clicking on the icon on the right. This will keep you updated through the various stages of budget development. You can also contact our Finance team for more information by emailing financialservices@ballarat.vic.gov.au