Brisbane City Council budget 2015-16: live coverage

• Brisbane City Council budget 2015-16: As it happened
• Fountains and lights in Brisbane City Council budget short of surprises
• Lord Mayor Graham Quirk's 2015-6 Brisbane City Council budget speech

A quick one before we go. State of Origin was on Lord Mayor Graham Quirk's mind today as he chatted to the media.

Cr Quirk proudly pointed out that he was wearing a maroon tie, however his choice of suit - a blue one - perhaps wasn't the best.

He also had a message for Sydney lord mayor Clover Moore.

"I wish you well as a fellow lord mayor tonight, but can I say not too much luck. The Maroons, down in Melbourne, [are] chasing the Blues and they'll eat you up," he said.

On that note, we're wrapping up our live coverage now. No doubt there will be plenty more to come from the budget washup.

Visit the Brisbane Times website for comprehensive coverage.

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So there you have it, Brisbane. That's the budget for the upcoming year.

Not too many new announcements today, given many of the higher-profile initiatives were revealed before the budget was handed down.

Here are some of the new things we heard about:

• A $1.6 million program for decorative lighting and $2.2 million to restore fountains
• Plans for a Kangaroo Point pedestrian bridge have been scrapped
• Free wi-fi will be rolled out in the entire CBD
• The council's $2.6 billion budget has scraped into the black with a $511,000 surplus

The Lord Mayor has handed down a $2.6 billion budget.Credit: Glenn Hunt

King George Square

Labor lord mayoral candidate Rod Harding has slammed Graham Quirk's "underwhelming" budget.

Continuing a recent theme, he said it was a "tired" budget from a Lord Mayor who, after 30 years in council, had lost touch with the community.

He was also disappointed King George Square was missing out on a new fountain and promised to install one if elected next year.

Mr Harding also promised trees and grass for the square, but would not say how much it would cost.

As for the abandoned Kangaroo Point pedestrian bridge, Mr Harding said he would go ahead with the project.

The RACQ has welcomed the Brisbane City Council budget, but says money spent on upgrading Kingsford-Smith Drive could be better spent elsewhere.

General manager for advocacy Paul Turner said that money would be better spent on overpasses for the Coopers Plains and Coorparoo rail crossings instead.

Apart from that, Mr Turner gave the budget the thumbs up, in particular the Inner City Bypass widening and the $100 million for suburban resurfacing.

Kingsford-Smith Drive upgrades feature in the council budget.

Labor lord mayoral candidate Rod Harding.Credit: Michelle Smith

Labor's lord mayoral challenger Rod Harding is expected to provide his reaction to the budget at 12.30pm.

He'll be joined by sitting ALP councillors Shayne Sutton and Kim Flesser.

Mr Harding likes mentioning that he used to work for Macquarie Bank and has vowed to keep a close eye on the council's finances.

It'll be interesting to see just how scathing he will be of the LNP's plan.

The council has pledged to complete 19 grass cuts for parks each year, up from 17.

They say the grass along main roads will be trimmed 16 times, while minor roads will be snipped 14 times.

Many will remember the grass cutting saga from earlier this year.

Council slashed its yearly grass cutting costs from about $18.7 million to $13.7 million in November.

Lord Mayor Graham Quirk is wrapping up his budget speech and has thanked council staff who helped put together the annual plan.

"This budget delivers key projects required in a growing city, it delivers on the basic services expected by ratepayers and delivers upon initiatives for economic development and job creation," he said.

Read it in full

Brisbane Mayor Graham Quirk delivers his budget speech.Credit: Chris Hyde

The LNP Council have scraped through with a $511,000 surplus for the upcoming financial year.

Future estimates say there will be a $563,000 surplus in 2016-17 and a $525,000 in 2017-18.

Lord Mayor Graham Quirk looks through the Brisbane City Council annual budget.Credit: Chris Hyde

Councillor Julian Simmonds.Credit: Glenn Hunt

While the Lord Mayor is delivering the budget, the man who has done a lot of the work behind the scenes is the council's finance chairman Julian Simmonds.

Cr Simmonds has been on the council since 2010 and represents the Walter-Taylor ward, which takes in Indooroopilly, Fig Tree Pocket, Taringa, St Lucia and parts of Chapel Hill, Toowong and Kenmore.

Only $1.1 million has been allocated, but this initiative by the council is likely to be welcomed by many across the city.

They've pledged to install free Wi-Fi hotspots across the CBD, adding to existing sites at Queen Street Mall, Victoria Bridge and Southbank.

"We will join other world cities in their quest to keep residents and tourists connected to their family and friends," Lord Mayor Graham Quirk said.

Brisbane budget sets out WiFi planCredit: Colleen Chin Quan