Last night Bayswater became the first WA metropolitan Council to formally adopt a budget that had been laid out for community input.
Mayor Dan Bull said while Council’s adoption of participatory budgeting this year was a bold move for the City, the process enabled Council to gain a better understanding of the community’s priorities in relation to the services it delivers.
“In developing this year’s budget, Council has sought to achieve two key goals - to give the community a chance to provide direct input into the budget process and to take steps towards the preservation of our aging infrastructure.
“Our commitment to achieving these objectives is evidenced by the introduction of participatory budgeting and the transfer of 1% of rates into a fund for the future.
“The introduction of participatory budgeting this year has seen us take a whole new approach to developing our 2019/20 Budget.
“We offered our community the opportunity to provide input into our entire operating budget and they embraced it.
Participatory budgeting kicked off with drop in sessions at local libraries and shopping centres. The sessions provided the community with information about the City’s services. The community were then invited to have their say on how the budget should be spent via our online budget allocator tool. Over 250 residents provided their input.
As part of the process, a community panel was formed. The panel was randomly selected and representative of the community in age, gender and locality. The panel spent three days deliberating over the City’s operating budget. Managers from across the organisation came to panel sessions to explain the services they deliver on behalf of the community. They were also on hand to answer any questions raised along the way. In their final report to Council, the community panel made recommendations across 19 service areas.
“I am incredibly impressed with the passion and commitment of the community panel. It was a big job for them, and one that carried significant responsibility. They gave up their time to make sure this year’s Budget was aligned with the services the community values.
“In preparing our 2019/20 Budget we gave careful consideration to the recommendations made by the panel along with strategies committed to in the City’s Strategic Community Plan 2017-2027 and feedback gained from regular consultation with the community.
“The feedback we received from the community panel has been invaluable. We have gained a better understanding of the community’s priorities in relation to the services we deliver and have been able to align this year’s Budget with many of the panel’s recommendations.
“The community panel indicated a rate increase of between CPI and 3.5% would be acceptable. We took this feedback on board, opting to increase rates by 2.95%. Of this, 1.95% incorporates the local government cost index determined by the WA Local Government Association.
“An additional 1% will be set aside to help ensure we can afford to make the necessary future upgrades to our aging assets. Preserving our buildings and facilities for future generations is vitally important so I believe that we need to start saving today.
“I am confident the introduction of participatory budgeting has seen Council adopt a Budget that reflects the services valued by our community and preserves our assets into the future.