By Kerri-Anne Mesner
BRIMBANK ratepayers can look forward to more reasonable rate rise of 3.92 per cent compared to the last rate rise of 8 per cent.
Draft council budget documents leaked to Star show council proposes to raise rates by 3.92 per cent in the 2008/09 financial year.
Brimbank mayor Sam David said he believed the 3.92 per cent rate rise was reasonable.
Community groups across Brimbank will have access to almost triple the amount of funds through the Community Grants program compared to previous years — $110,000 last year — with a proposed $327,000 in the upcoming budget.
Cr David said he believed the whole of the community would be happy with the extra funds earmarked for the Community Grants program because in the past council could only give small amounts to community groups.
The documents suggest the Brimbank City Council 2008/09 budget will have a fairly even distribution of funds between the four council wards with about $4.4m for each ward.
“For the first time, we seem to be sharing the proportion of the cake,” Cr David said.
However, Sunshine Residents and Ratepayers Association president Darlene Reilly said from what she has heard about the 2008/09 budget, it sounded like a fair amount of funds that council officers had recommended for projects in Harvester Ward had been taken out and given to Taylors Ward.
Ms Reilly said at a meeting on Thursday night with Brimbank council officers to discuss the proposed council budget and how the officers worked out which projected got funds, complained there guideline processes for the allocation of funds for parks and sports clubs.
A special council meeting has been set for 20 May where council will endorse the draft budget which will then go on public display for 40 days for the public to make submissions about it, before the budget is adopted by council.
