Big items on Capel’s list

The $3.8 million Capel Civic Precinct, predominately funded by the State and Federal governments, and a $10.4 million dollar capital works program are the big ticket items of the Capel Shire Council’s 2018-19 budget adopted at the August meeting.

Capel shire chief executive officer Ian McCabe said while the construction of stage 4 of the precinct was declined at the same meeting, the project was still on the table, with staff reviewing plans to look for cost savings.

Other projects in the budget include $500,000 for upgrading Boyanup sports facilities and emergency service vehicles, $600,000 for heavy plant and vehicles, $200,000 for drainage improvements and $100,000 information technology improvements.

Mr McCabe said the budget was the culmination of months of consultation and debate to produce the best outcomes for residents. He said the budget was a balancing act between assessing rates income and State and Federal grants to ensure the council’s plans were delivered to meet the needs of the community.

“The main focus in preparing this budget was to deliver high quality services while continuing to improve infrastructure,” he said.

“This included referencing the Long Term Financial Plan, the current Strategic Community Plan and submissions from the public.

He said there was a 6 per cent increase in the rate in the dollar across all property categories to allow major works and projects in the shire to be delivered. The council’s change to the rating model meant the timing of some projects had to be adjusted.

Mr McCabe said the council would conduct a review of debt, financial reserves and the Long Term Financial Plan in preparation for next year’s budget to ensure long term viability.