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 2024–25, we have budgeted a decrease of 28.6% or $2.65 million, compared to the 2023–24 forecast.
There is a $84,000 decrease in recurrent operating grants. This is because of a reduction in:
- Family and Children related grant funding associated with Maternal and Child Health services.
- Building Support funding for cladding enforcement.
This is offset by the Victorian Local Government Grants Commission (VLGGC) bringing forward 100% or $5.35 million of the 2023–24 allocation to the 2022–23 financial year, compared to a 50% allocation in 2024–25 brought forward to 2023–24.
There is a $2.57 million decrease of non-recurrent operating grants. This is because of a reduction in:
- Streetscapes and transport grants associated with the North East Link and removal of the Union road level crossing.
- Family and Children related grant funding associated with kindergartens throughout the municipality.
- Digitalisation related grant funding to digitalise planning files.
- Graffiti Prevention and Removal related grant funding.
- COVID-19 related grant funding to distribute Rapid Antigen Tests (RAT) throughout the municipality.
After adjusting for the Victorian Local Government Grants Commission, the total for operating grants is expected to decrease by 20.5%. 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 2024–25, we have budgeted $1.22 million for capital grants funding. This is a decrease in capital grant funding of $8.5 million compared to 2023–24.
The most significant grants include:
- $1.05 million from the Australian Government for the Roads to Recovery Program covering roads pavement renewal works.
- $125,000 for Electronic Scoreboard and Portable Player Shelters at Ashburton Park from Department of Jobs, Skills, Industry and Regions.
- $50,000 for Ashburton Bowls Club Shade upgrades from Department of Jobs, Skills, Industry and Regions.