What are the plans?

  • Draft Delivery Program 2025-2029

    This outlines the main goals and major projects Councillors propose to work on over the next four years to help achieve the Community Outcomes from the MidCoast 2035 Community Strategic Plan, and how they will be paid for.

  • Draft Operational Plan 2025-26

    This explains what Council will do in the next financial year to work towards the long-term goals in the Delivery Program. It also shows how Council will fund the 31 services it provides to the community.

  • Draft Resourcing Strategy

    This shows how Council plans to manage its money, assets and work force, now and into the future, making sure spending meets today’s needs while staying responsible in the long run.

Our focus areas for the next four years

Councillors have identified the following priority areas

  • Roads

    Budget cuts have been made to other areas to redirect an additional $6.7 million to roads in 2025-26.

    The total roads budget is now $68.47 million; with $18.54 million for maintenance and $49.93 million for upgrades and new works.

    This extra funding won’t fix everything, but it’s an important step to stop our roads from getting worse and to improve safety.

  • Financial sustainability

    We are making changes to ensure we can look after community facilities and assets for the long term and have savings set aside for unexpected costs.

    We’re focusing on being efficient, keeping our income in line with expenses, and managing our assets so they last as long as possible.

  • Customer experience

    We want to improve how we interact with you by making it easier and quicker to access our services and help you stay informed about issues that affect you.

    We're focused on building a stronger relationship with our community by listening and understanding what people want, need, and value.

Council’s expenditure budget for 2025–26 is $320 million. This includes $102 million from rates and $86 million from annual charges such as water, sewer, waste and stormwater. The rest comes from fees, government grants, and other funding sources.

(See Draft Operational Plan 2025–2026, p. 136 for more details).

The 2025–2026 budget anticipates Council's income from continuing operations will total $344 million, which consists of:

  • $102 million in rates
  • $86 million in annual charges
  • $61 million in user charges and fees
  • $14 million in interest and investment revenues
  • $8 million in other revenues
  • $42 million in operating grants and contributions, and
  • $31 million received for capital works through grants and contributions

Operating expenditure is projected to total $320 million, which includes:

  • $101 million in employee costs
  • $8 million in borrowing costs (interest repayments)
  • $92 million in depreciation on community assets, and
  • $119 million in materials, contracts and other expenses

Council will undertake a capital works program of approximately $154 million, which includes $51 million on transport infrastructure assets (this includes $49.93 million on upgrades and new works on our roads, bridges and footpaths, along with stormwater projects ); $4 million on buildings, $7 million on parks and recreation infrastructure and $11 million on plant and equipment replacements.

Capital expenditure of $56 million on sewer infrastructure and $20 million on water infrastructure is also proposed for 2025‐26.

We will also be spending $18.47 million on maintenance of our road network.

Council will reduce the principal outstanding on existing borrowings by $16.5 million. There are no new borrowings proposed for 2025-26.

Further details on the budgets allocated to Council’s 31 service areas can be found in the service statement section of the Delivery Program and Operational Plan.

View the documents

Delivery Program

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Operational Plan

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Resourcing Strategy

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Fees & Charges 2025 -26

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