Loddon Shire Mayoral Column 29 June
Published on 29 June 2021
Key finance documents adopted
At its Ordinary Meeting last week, Council adopted the 2021/22 Budget, 2021/22 Schedule of Fees and Charges, and Revenue and Rating Plan 2021-2025.
The Budget allocates a capital expenditure program of $6.92 million, which includes $3.07 million towards roads, $350,000 for urban and road drainage, and $240,000 for footpaths. The total figure also includes $1.33 million for leisure and community facilities.
There is also a $300,000 allocation for works associated with the Building Asset Management Plan and full funding of Council’s ongoing commitment to community planning of $750,000.
As outlined in the Schedule of Fees and Charges document, fees and charges will increase by 1.5 per cent – the same as the rate increase in the 2021/22 Budget.
The Revenue and Rating Plan, which is the revenue-raising framework for Council, is required to be prepared under the Local Government Act 2020 to cover a minimum period of four years following each Council election.
The 2021/22 Budget is available on Council’s website at www.loddon.vic.gov.au/Our-Council/Financial-reports
The Schedule of Fees and Charges is available from www.loddon.vic.gov.au/Our-Council/Current-fees-and-charges
You can also view the Revenue and Rating Plan 2021-2025 at www.loddon.vic.gov.au/Our-Council/Plans-strategies-and-policies/Plans-and-strategies
Skinners Flat Reservoir Master Plan
At its Ordinary Meeting last week, Council received and noted the Skinners Flat Reservoir Master Plan.
The master plan was developed to provide the Wedderburn community and visitors with greater access to outdoor recreation activities and to address issues around ad hoc development and maintenance at the site. The need for a master plan was identified in Wedderburn’s Community Plan.
The master plan, which underwent extensive community engagement in its development, provides direction for future recreation activities, amenities and infrastructure improvements at the reservoir. It also includes options for the delegation of management under the Local Government Act 2020.
In noting the content of the document, Council observed the pre-conditions influencing future Council decisions around implementation of any options or actions in the master plan.
This includes the need to complete an engineering report for the Skinners Flat Dam Safety Upgrade. It’s anticipated there will need to be extensive work on the reservoir’s wall, which will take significant time to complete. This may then lower the water capacity of the reservoir, meaning that activities at the site could be limited.
There will also need to be confirmation of a secure and affordable water supply in order for suitable water levels at the reservoir to be maintained.
This all means the implementation of the Skinners Flat Reservoir Master Plan will take time to complete.
The Skinners Flat Reservoir Master Plan can be viewed at: www.loddon.vic.gov.au/Our-Council/Plans-strategies-and-policies/Plans-and-strategies
Get Bushfire Resilient webinar series
Bushfire Resilience Inc. (BRI) will be holding a series of free webinars for households in rural areas and on the urban fringe regarding getting bushfire resilient.
The five 90-minute webinars will feature industry experts and representatives from the CSIRO, CFA, Flinders University, University of Melbourne, University of Wollongong, La Trobe University, and clinical psychologist Dr Rob Gordon OAM.
You also have the opportunity to send questions before each session or ask the subject matter experts live during Question and Answer sessions.
The first webinar Reduce your house and property risk, will be held on Wednesday 21 July at 7.30pm with Justin Leonard from the CSIRO.
Webinars will also be held on 4 August (Get water ready: tanks, pumps and sprinklers); 19 August (Your physical and emotional preparation); 1 September (Triggers to take action); and 15 September (Your sheltering options).
For more information and to register for the webinars visit https://bushfireresilience.org.au/
BRI is a local community organisation whose aim is to provide bushfire information to households based on science, experience and best practice.
Digital Agriculture Investment Scheme now open
Applications are now open for the Digital Agriculture Investment Scheme, which supports farmers to invest in digital agriculture technologies.
Grants of up to $50,000 are available to assist eligible farm businesses to invest in on-farm digital technology projects to improve productivity, resilience and long-term viability of their farms.
Eligible projects could include technology such as weather stations, animal monitoring systems, robotics, drones or unmanned autonomous vehicles, sensors, on-farm networks and farm management software.
The project will be delivered by Rural Finance on behalf of Agriculture Victoria.
To find out more and apply, visit www.ruralfinance.com.au/industry-programs/digital-agriculture-investment-scheme
Applications for the scheme close on 31 October 2021 or when funds are fully allocated.