The City of Melbourne will deliver its first surplus in five years, while delivering on its promises to the community through its $781 million draft Budget 2024–25.
Council has achieved a $101,000 surplus – a year ahead of schedule, without compromising the frontline services people rely on. Surpluses are projected to continue to 2028.
This has been achieved through prudent financial management – improving efficiency across the organisation, slashing consultancy costs, re-phasing projects and investing in new technology.
In 2024–25, Council will implement the Victorian Government’s 2.75 per cent rate cap – after pausing rate rises during the pandemic to support residents and businesses.
On average, property owners can expect to see their rates slightly increase by about $37 to ensure we continue delivering the projects and services that make the City of Melbourne a great place to live and do business.
To support local businesses, residents and development in the city, most of our normal fees and charges will increase by less than 5 per cent.
Residents will receive a waste charge reduction due to an increase in users across the municipality. Owners of properties valued above $515,000 will receive a $53 reduction, while owners of properties valued below $515,000 will receive a $15 reduction.
We’re continuing to do what counts for Melbourne – with an extra $41.5 million to keep the city clean and sparkling, $9.7 million to improve safety infrastructure, and $30 million to maintain our parks and gardens.
Melbourne is the biggest and fastest-growing capital city in the country. To meet the future needs of our community, there will be more shovels in the ground than ever before.
The draft Budget will invest $224.7 million to deliver major infrastructure projects and maintain community assets – with construction underway on the Greenline Project, completing the new Kensington Community Aquatic and Recreation Centre and continuing to enhance the Queen Victoria Market experience.
To make it easier for Melburnians to get where they need to go, we’ll spend almost $13 million to upgrade roads and footpaths, including making them more accessible.
Feedback on the draft Budget 2024–25 can be provided on Participate Melbourne from 6:00pm on Tuesday 14 May until 5:30pm Monday 3 June.
After a special meeting of the Future Melbourne Committee to consider community feedback on Tuesday 18 June, the final Budget is expected to be adopted by councillors on Tuesday 25 June 2024.
Quotes attributable to Lord Mayor Sally Capp
“We are so proud to announce a surplus Budget – because returning to surplus budgets is what’s best for our city and our people.”
“We’ve made prudent financial decisions to get us here – while still investing in core community services to support our growing population of residents, traders, workers, students and visitors.”
“Liveability is important to Melburnians – that’s why we’re turning more grey to green and continuing to deliver important infrastructure projects for our growing population. We will continue to supercharge our cleaning efforts and host the best events calendar in the country.”
“Melbourne has shown great resilience and we’ve worked hard to kick-start our economy after the pandemic. It’s time to hand down a sustainable budget – so Council can continue doing what counts.”
Quotes attributable to Finance, Governance and Risk portfolio lead Councillor Philip Le Liu
“After five deficit budgets, returning to surplus is an important step for City of Melbourne and the future ambitions of council to deliver what matters to our residents, traders and visitors in the city.”
“We’ve cleared an underlying deficit of $25.6 million by lowering operational costs, re-phasing projects, improving efficiency and doing more work in-house.”
“Most importantly, we’ve achieved this without compromising the services our community relies on every day – from childcare to recreational activities.”
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