On Wednesday, 27 July Council adopted its 2011/12 Budget (PDF 354kb).

The total budget for 2011/12 is $70.3 million. $21.3 million will be spent on a range of services and capital works including $12 million for road renewals and reconstructions, asphalt surfacing, bridge rehabilitation and new pathways. A further $4.4 million is for facilities such as the Phillip Island Children’s Hub, Wonthaggi Centennial Centre and the San Remo Kindergarten. For more information on how the total revenue is allocated see our key budget figures.

To fund the budget, Council relies on your rates, as well as government grants, loan funds, user fees and charges. This year, rates and charges will increase by 6.9 per cent or an average of $84 per property.   Our brochure - "Your Rates and the 2011/12 Budget" provides an overview of the budget and an explanation of your rates at work.

Our aim is to provide our ratepayers with value for money. Of the 79 councils in Victoria, Bass Coast currently has the 16th lowest average rates and charges per property. For more information to see how our rates and charges compare to other Gippsland councils see our 2011 comparison data.

A snapshot of what we do

• Care for over 2,500 frail aged or disabled clients through our HACC program
• Collect an average of 137 tonnes of waste per week and 196 tonnes of recycling each fortnight
• Maintain nearly 500km of sealed roads, over 400km of unsealed roads and over 150km of footpaths
• Maintain 46 playgrounds, 90 parks and reserves and 4 major sporting facilities
• Provide visitor information services to over 250,000 visitors each year
• Process over 7,033 pet registrations and provide pound care for 388 lost animals
• Manage and maintain over 42km of coastline
• Respond to approximately 4,000 roads and park maintenance requests
• Record, distribute and respond to over 90,000 items of correspondence
• Answer 80,000 telephone calls

You can view a copy of the 2011-12 Budget at any of our Customer Service Centres. For more information contact Council on 1300 BCOAST(226 278) for the cost of a local call (excl. mobiles).