This year the City asked you, the community, to let us know how you would spend the 2019/20 budget. This innovative approach saw us lay out our entire operating budget for input for the first time.
First, we invited you to prioritise the City's services online using a Budget Allocator Tool. The community embraced the opportunity to let us know where they would like to increase, decrease or maintain spend across the City's service areas. The tool was available on the City's Engage Bayswater portal from late November until the end of January.
From here, a panel of randomly selected community representatives was formed to deliberate on the budget in more detail. Panellists have taken a deep dive into the City's service areas at a series of workshops over the past few weeks. Feedback from the Budget Allocator and recent community survey will be considered by Council, along with other strategic documents.
I'm looking forward to receiving the panel's final recommendations at the final workshop on 16 March. The report will give Council a deeper understanding of community priorities as we put together the 2019/20 budget.
Cr Lorna Clarke