Following two community conversations to inform its development, the Annual Budget 2022/23 has now been adopted.Thank you to all of those who provided feedback for this year's Annual Budget resulting in the highest number of submissions received over a five-year period.

Council will spend $209 million over the next 12 months to support the community now, while also planning for a growing community – with our population forecast to increase from 85,000 to an estimated 150,000 by 2041 leading also to an increase in demand for services.

Of this, $85.35 million is allocated to Capital Works, to support the development and renewal of facilities and infrastructure, and $123.6 million to support continued delivery of services and programs across the municipality – such as immunisations, Maternal Child Health services, community centre and library programs, and public community events and activations.

Capital Works funding includes:

• $13.77 million for improvements of roads and laneways
• $13.62 million for the upgrades of public parks, open space and streetscapes
• $6.947 million for the development and upgrade of footpaths and bike paths across the municipality
• $5.6 million for the redevelopment of the community pavilion at Henry Turner South Reserve
• $3.7 million for the upgrade of the play surface and lighting at Hansen Reserve
• $2.36 million for the development and upgrade of recreational, leisure and community
• $2 million for upgrades to underground drainage infrastructure facilities
• $500,000 for roadway, footpath and street work upgrades to the Joseph Road Public Realm in Footscray
• $456,000 for Public place recycling, bin replacements including parks bins and waste service new bins

Other major projects, previously committed to which are due to commence in 2022/23 include:

• $13 million for the redevelopment of the iconic Footscray Town Hall into a community and civic precinct
• $7 million for the design and installation of a new splash park at Maribyrnong Aquatic Centre
• $200,000 for the next design phase of NeXT: Footscray Library, Community and Cultural Hub

$4.3 million will also go to implementing improvements to the Western Lawn at Footscray Park to support active and passive community use, in line with community feedback and the Footscray Park Masterplan.

A high-level summary of the Annual Budget can be found in the document library where you can also view a copy of the Annual Budget 2022/23.

Please note, the 'Budget Breakdown' provides a breakdown of the Proposed Budget.