This week I’m taking a good hard look at a special Noosa Council meeting on Friday 6 July, the primary aim of which was to formally adopt the 2018-19 budget and give the CEO and Corporate Services Manager an opportunity to elaborate on Council protocols and policy.
My Noosa Council Budget Review
I suppose the headline item at these annual events involves rate increases and for the year ahead that’s going to be a maximum of 2.4%, which is about the forecast inflation rate for the year. This will buy an increased capital works budget otherwise business as usual.
The capital budget of $29.1 million will be funded by rates ($20.9 million), grants ($3.3 million) and loans ($4.9 million, which will be devoted to projects including the North Shore campground and the Cooroy playground).
Significant budgeted capital works include the Park Road boardwalk renewal, Noosaville Library refurbishment, Cooroy Bridge replacement and the Hilton Terrace-Ernest Street intersection upgrade. There should also be a substantial carryover of funds from unfinished 2017-18 works (the Council was 20% behind schedule at the end of May).
Overall, with approximately a $96 million turnover, the Council plans for a small surplus. It has also instituted a 10-year asset management plan which will assist in monitoring and control of the capital works budget.
The result from the 2017-18 financial year showed an estimated revenue of $92 million and expenditure of $91.9 million. It’s hard to get a closer balanced budget than that, although by my understanding there’s an old de-amalgamation debt residue of $32.9 million still on the books.
I don’t mean to be harsh but in these exercises I always look for anomalies or areas where there might be improvement.
I’m also critical of media reports that don’t provide ratepayers with all relevant information, for example, where was the financial year review?
It’s worth noting that pundits, including some within the Council, believe that there should have been a rate rise above CPI because increased demands look like outstripping resources. At the very least it looks like the Council will be just treading water.
In 2015 a Queensland Treasury Corporation credit review recommended Noosa Council adopt a $20 million capital works budget but this figure has consistently been disregarded. As a consequence of unrealistic budgets, the Council has never been able to complete all budgeted capital works.
Since 2014 there’s been a significant carryover of uncompleted work which has accrued and led to problems. With actual capital works completion 20% below schedule at the end of May, there will need to be significant budget revisions during the forthcoming year to square away unplanned additions to the 2018-19 budget.
My take on Noosa’s sustainable transport plan
On to another subject before the Council at present and it’s one that’s causing considerable debate within the Noosa community right now – tourists and their impact on road and parking infrastructure.
Noosa is destined to have an over-abundance of day trippers, it may be there already, who will present an overwhelming burden until Noosa changes its road and parking management.
Cars continue to be the principal transport for visitors and, of course, families prefer to park near the beach. There’s an immediate need for additional carparks and, ideally, underground carparks – although for some reason known only to itself the Council seems to have an ideological problem with these.
As an aside, I believe Park and Ride services are best suited to cities and not practical for Noosa but I’m sure many of you would argue with me on that score.
The roads servicing Noosa’s tourist areas need widening with more one-way streets. Bridges are an expensive problem and tend to be bottlenecks. Ideally, Hastings Street needs an exit as well as an entry, perhaps a bridge from Noosa Woods to Noosa Drive which has been suggested but not found favour.
Alternative means of transportation
Light rail should at least be on the table for consideration – perfect for high-density use and could be a great solution for a Noosa Junction-Hastings Street-Gympie Terrace loop.
Although there are rumours, Noosa Council cannot afford another electric bus trial. It will be laughed out of court. Cost figures on the previous failed experiment were fudged but it certainly cost well over $100,000.
Walking and cycling are great and infrastructure for them will increase but they won’t solve the congestion problem, especially with an ageing population in Noosa – which the numbers show is amongst the top ageing demographics in the State.
What to do other places do? Well, in the Mediterranean region tourist areas generally have these characteristics: efficient buses and trams; strategically placed carparks; and wide roads (shared transport lanes and pathways are common).
So Noosa Council needs to do make some quick and wise decisions on these matters. Quick because there will be significant lags between decision point and project completion (during which the problems will get worse) and wise because the planning needs to be good for the next 20 or more years.
Till next time.
