Update | 2024-2025 Budget

The Result:

Each year, Scenic Rim Regional Council develops an annual Budget that determines the services we can deliver to our community. Community consultation forms an important part of this process and feedback received during the engagement process has helped to inform the 2024-2025 Budget and beyond.

This year community were asked to prioritise Council services, based on the Service Catalogue, in lieu of a Draft Budget.

Feedback on services was accepted by Council during the community consultation period of 3 to 17 May 2024.

Face-to-Face Community Consultation Sessions were held in Beaudesert, Boonah and Tamborine Mountain during May 2024. These sessions were attended by 45 community members, with a further 87 attending online via the livestream option during the Beaudesert session.These recordings can be found here.

Over 380 people viewed the Let's Talk Scenic Rim project page and 106 documents were downloaded from the platform. As a result, Council received 31 completed online surveys with 21 ideas for council to consider and four submissions via email. Submitters were provided with the option to be invited to present at an Ordinary Meeting. Nine community members accepted the invitation to a Special Meeting, either as individuals or representing an organisation. The link to that meeting can be found here.

Survey results showed the community's priorities in order of importance as:

• Transport Infrastructure Network
• Council and Public Facilities Maintenance
• Parks, Recreational Spaces and Cemeteries
• Disaster Management
• Planning and Development
• Regulatory and Environmental Services
• Community Development and Cultural Services
• Economic Development and Regional Events, and
• Library Services.

Submissions received covered a range of topics including suggestions for improved recreational infrastructure, changing priorities within the budget, and questions about how the rating systems work. Other ideas included suggested improvements for community pools and more funding for roads and footpaths. Submissions and Council's responses can be viewed here, noting that submissions have been retained in their original format, with no alterations made to spelling or grammar, to retain the integrity of the process.

Council considered all feedback in its deliberation. You can read a summary of the Budget, or the complete Scenic Rim Regional Council adopted 2024-2025 Budget in the key documents of this page.

Key features include:

• Recognition of the current cost of living pressures on ratepayers, with an overall increase in revenue of 2.76 per cent in the minimum general rate and community infrastructure charge, which is below the CPI of 3.4%. Representing 62 per cent of Scenic Rim ratepayers, principal place of residence properties will see an average increase of 2.94 per cent. Rates for rural principal place of residence properties, representing seven per cent of Scenic Rim ratepayers, will also see an average increase of 2.95 per cent.
• The renewal of community infrastructure, such as roads, bridges footpaths and the stormwater drainage network.
• $37 million for major capital works as well as community facilities, parks and landscape maintenance, waste management, and our Vibrant and Active Towns and Villages program
• $19.69 million allocated to the upgrade and rehabilitation of Council’s road and bridge network which has been damaged repeatedly in recent years by significant weather events.
• $930,000 for new and upgraded footpaths across the region, including $520,000 for general rehabilitation and minor works.
• Tamborine Mountain Pool and the Scenic Rim Aqua Fitness Centre at Boonah have been allocated a total of $67,000 for capital items.

More detail is provided on the Scenic Rim Regional Council website via this link.

Thank you to everyone who, through their feedback, has helped shaped Council’s 2024-2025 Budget as we continue to build a strong future for our region.

Over the next 12 months, Council will continue to engage with the community to ensure our priorities align community expectations and needs. We look forward to working with you to continue delivering a sustainable future for our region.