<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The budget includes a proposed rate increase of 5.4 per cent. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
This is designed to balance rising costs, increased service delivery and the need to avoid returning to a deficit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Mayor Sue Hickey said Council had worked hard to strengthen its financial position in recent years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAfter a decade of multiple deficit budgets, reducing our debt to zero last year was a major achievement,\u201d Mayor Hickey said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt means we are no longer paying interest or repayments, and we can plan with greater certainty for future investment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cNow is not the time to undo that progress by returning the budget to deficit.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Mayor Hickey said Council was also mindful of cost-of-living pressures.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe understand many households are doing it tough, which is why the proposed increase is broadly in line with CPI movements.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAt the same time, we need to ensure Council can continue delivering services and maintaining infrastructure for our growing community.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The budget also makes provision for the reopening of the Glenorchy War Memorial Pool, with operating costs expected to be around $450,000 per year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe pool will reopen ahead of summer, which is something the community has strongly supported,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cMore than 90 per cent of residents backed its refurbishment, and we are nearing completion of an almost $7 million project to bring it back into use.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The proposed budget includes significant investment across the city, including:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Mayor Hickey said investment in public spaces remained a key priority.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe transformation of Tolosa Park into a regional recreation destination is something we\u2019re very proud of,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe new playground will build on that and create an even more attractive space for residents and visitors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cInvesting in places people want to use and enjoy is essential to making Glenorchy a great place to live and raise a family.\u201d<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The budget includes a proposed rate increase of 5.4 per cent. This is designed to balance rising costs, increased service delivery and the need to avoid returning to a deficit. Mayor Sue Hickey said Council had worked hard to strengthen its financial position in recent years. \u201cAfter a decade of multiple deficit budgets, reducing our…<\/p>","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":5258,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"ep_embedding_exclude":false,"ep_embedding_include":false,"ep_exclude_from_search":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5257","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n