Operating grants
Operating grants from the Victorian and Australian Government help us deliver services to ratepayers. Operating grants can be either:
- recurrent, meaning they are received each year
- non-recurrent, meaning they are once off or short term.
For 2023–24, we have budgeted an increase of 14.8% or $1.71 million, compared to the 2022–23 forecast. This is due to a:
- $3.68 million increase in recurrent operating grants. This is mainly because the Victorian Local Government Grants Commission (VLGGC) brought forward 75% or $3.93 million of the 2022–23 allocation to the 2021-22 financial year, compared to a full year allocation in 2023–24
- partial offset of non-recurrent operating grants decreased by $1.97 million, mainly due to less grant funding opportunities in 2023–24.
After adjusting for the Victorian Local Government Grants Commission, the total for operating grants is expected to decrease by 18.3%. The decrease in operating grants and subsidies shows that the trend of grant income is not keeping up with the spending required to deliver services to the community. As a result, there is an increasing financial burden on Council and our ratepayers.
Capital grants
Capital grants from the Victorian and Australian Government and community sources help us fund the Capital Works Program.
The amount of capital grants we receive each year can change a lot depending on the type of works in the Capital Works Program.
Capital grants can be either:
- recurrent, meaning they are received each year
- non-recurrent, meaning they are once off or short term.
For 2023–24, we have budgeted for capital grants funding of $3.24 million. This is a decrease in capital grant funding of $11.15 million compared to 2022–23.
The largest grants for 2023–24 include:
- $2.05 million from the Australian Government for Walmer Street bridge works
- $593,811 from the Australian Government Local Road and Community Infrastructure Program for Willsmere Park Pavilion and Lynden Park Pavilion
- $593,811 from the Australian Government Roads to Recovery Program covering roads pavement renewal works.