Beyond COVID-19, floods and financial challenges: Greater Shepparton’s $94 million budget

By Taylah Baker

Jul 4, 2024

**Upgrades to various sport and recreational facilities form a part of the 2024-25 budget for Greater Shepparton.** Photo by Megan Fisher

Conservative, compromised and well-balanced.

These three words resounded among the nine councillors of Greater Shepparton City Council as they adopted the budget for 2024-25 during its June meeting.

The budget allocates about $94 million (excluding GST), with $69.97 million dedicated to capital works.

“(We’ve included) a healthy capital works program for projects across the municipality and funding for all of the services, facilities and assets the community knows and loves,” Cr Shane Sali said.

“Council has still managed to deliver a strong budget... despite the financial challenges we face, including the changes to address the operating deficit we were facing.”

During the meeting, Cr Seema Abdullah said council inherited a budget with a suggested operating deficit of $17.95 million in 2020.

The deficit reduced from $16.7 million in 2021 to $6.85 million in 2024.

With this in mind, a key financial principle of the budget was to work toward achieving and maintaining an adjusted underlying surplus.

Cr Sali said council was “tracking slowly but surely” toward a surplus in the 2026-27 budget.

“(In the past four years), we’ve been faced with financial challenges that we cannot plan for — COVID-19, floods, storms — and you have to deal with them,” he said.

“We’ve dealt with them to the best of our ability, still delivered services, and we’re still progressing to invest in everything that makes Greater Shepparton great.

“The community should have confidence that there’s a really sound foundation here to ensure that we meet that surplus at that time.”

Approaching the initial budget, council received 158 submissions, which resulted in key projects and significant regional developments.

After the draft budget was released in May, extensive community feedback was received, and amendments were made.

Key highlights from the 2024-25 budget for Greater Shepparton are as follows:

Water, not money, down the drain

In response to community outcry over recurrent flooding, the budget funds stormwater drainage improvements, including the Margaret St pump station upgrade in Tatura and the Drummond Rd drainage upgrade in Shepparton.

Most notably, stage one of the Lenne St Drainage Upgrade is set to be completed over this financial year.

“(During the 2022 floods), Lenne St residents were significantly flooded, and community groups told us that it floods during normal and heavy rain events. That’s not acceptable,” Cr Sali said.

“Stage one understands what we can do underneath, having that drainage work done, and then how do we move that water out and progress into stage two of works.”

**Lenne St in Mooroopna was significantly flooded during the October 2022 floods. Residents say it also floods during regular rain events.** Photo by Rechelle Zammit

No longer a missing link

According to Cr Geoff Dobson, the “keystone of the budget” is the stage one development of GV Link, a proposed freight and logistics centre at 250 Toolamba Rd, Mooroopna.

GV Link is one of nearly 100 projects receiving significant funding as part of the capital works program.

The funds, which will be borrowed, will enable infrastructure works — a modest start to council’s long-held goal.

Cr Sali said the development would provide job opportunities, generate long-term economic benefits, and support business growth for new and existing operations in Shepparton, Mooroopna and the broader region.

By directly connecting to a future bypass, council anticipates that GV Link will reduce congestion on roads in and around Melbourne and improve the competitiveness of regional exporters in the marketplace.

**GV Link is being developed at 250 Toolamba Rd, Mooroopna.** Photo by Murray Silby

Skate parks brought to light

Community members have long called for a new skate park in Tatura and lighting at the Victoria Park Lake skate park in Shepparton.

In the 2024-25 budget, council has carved out a strategy to fund both.

Cr Anthony Brophy said the skate park in Tatura was considered “dangerous for families and kids”, as indicated by a council-regulated audit.

A community consultation was conducted for the skate park in Shepparton, and the feedback was “overwhelmingly positive”, Cr Sali said.

“If the lighting encourages our youth to remain active, that’s an important investment,” he said.

“We look forward to having that done to extend the free activity people can access.”

Game-changers

The 2024-25 budget includes investments in upgrades to Shepparton’s BMX facilities and the Shepparton Sports Stadium, funded by the Victorian Government.

It also acknowledges community feedback for developing a new community facility at Princess Park in Shepparton.

This initiative meets the needs of local sports clubs, which have been using temporary facilities due to flood damage.

“Council has put $50,000 towards a design and concept plan to understand what we can achieve, and hopefully, by the end of the year, we’ll have an official document on the table to start advocating to high levels of government for additional funds,” Cr Sali said.