𝐖𝐄’𝐕𝐄 𝐀𝐍𝐀𝐋𝐘𝐒𝐄𝐃 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐂𝐈𝐓𝐘 𝐎𝐅 𝐌𝐄𝐋𝐁𝐎𝐔𝐑𝐍𝐄 𝐃𝐑𝐀𝐅𝐓 𝐁𝐔𝐃𝐆𝐄𝐓 – 𝐇𝐄𝐑𝐄’𝐒 𝐖𝐇𝐄𝐑𝐄 𝐘𝐎𝐔𝐑 𝐌𝐎𝐍𝐄𝐘 𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐋𝐋𝐘 𝐆𝐎𝐄𝐒

Council Watch has gone line-by-line through the Draft Budget… not the glossy summary, but the actual numbers.

And what we found should make every ratepayer stop and think.

They are spending MORE on computers and IT than they are on roads.

Yes. Seriously.

FIRST – THE OPERATING MONEY PIT

Before a single road is fixed or project delivered, this is where your money disappears:

• Materials and services: $252.720M

• Employee costs: $234.131M

• Depreciation: $78.534M

That’s HALF A BILLION DOLLARS gone before we even talk about outcomes.

NOW LET’S TALK ABOUT STAFF COSTS

While ratepayers are capped at around 2.75% increases, Council is ramping up staff costs at more than double that rate.

Staff expenses jump 6.4% in a single year - and nearly 15% across the forward estimates. That's a major concern!

Let’s be clear:

Your rates are capped

Their staffing costs are not

More staff. Higher wages. Bigger bureaucracy.

Where is the matching improvement in services?

NOW – THE $175M CAPITAL WORKS PROGRAM

Here’s where the rest is going (as a % of total):

Parks, open space and streetscapes: $59.542M (34.0%)
Building improvements: $46.435M (26.5%)
Footpaths and cycleways: $13.780M (7.9%)
Plant and equipment: $9.854M (5.6%)
Other structures: $9.785M (5.6%)
Computers and telecommunications: $9.329M (5.3%)
Roads: $8.764M (5.0%)
Buildings: $8.300M (4.7%)
Drainage: $4.740M (2.7%)
Fixtures, fittings and furniture: $1.660M (0.9%)
Library books: $1.500M (0.9%)
Bridges: $1.209M (0.7%)

Let that sink in:

COMPUTERS: $9.3M (5.3%)
ROADS: $8.7M (5.0%)
The basics vs the buzzwords
ROADS: $8.7M (5.0%)
DRAINAGE: $4.7M (2.7%)
BRIDGES: $1.2M (0.7%)

That’s less than 9% combined for core infrastructure.

Meanwhile nearly 60% goes to:

THE REALITY

This is a budget built for appearances:

More money for how the city LOOKS

Less money for how the city WORKS

And behind it all:

A rapidly growing workforce

Costs rising faster than ratepayers are allowed to pay

A bureaucracy expanding well beyond inflation

This isn’t “back to basics.”

This is priorities upside down.

#CouncilWatch #Melbourne #BudgetBlowout #FollowTheMoney

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