Fountains and lights in Brisbane City Council budget short of surprises

• Brisbane City Council budget 2015-16: As it happened
• Brisbane City Council budget: Kangaroo Point pedestrian bridge plans scrapped
• Lord Mayor Graham Quirk's 2015-16 Brisbane City Council budget speech

Fountains and G20-style light shows will return to Brisbane as part of the council's $2.6 billion 2015-16 budget, which was handed down on Wednesday.

There were few other surprises in Lord Mayor Graham Quirk's final budget of the current council term, with most new spending commitments already announced and an average rates rise of 2.5 per cent.

Speaking in the budget lock-up prior to delivering his speech, Cr Quirk defended increasing rates well above that of the city's inflation level of about 1.4 per cent.

"Yes, the budget is above the CPI but that is in the context of the need to keep up with the infrastructure build for this city," he said.

Lord Mayor Graham Quirk peruses the 2015-16 Brisbane City Council Budget before handing it down on Wednesday.Credit: Chris Hyde

"No one's going to thank an administration if it lags behind in terms of infrastructure build and, as an administration, we've always been very much focused on making sure the mobility of this city is good and strong and we will continue to have that focus."

Cr Quirk said the rates rise could have been lower had Brisbane not experienced three major storms in the past year.

"Where you have unexpected expenses, that does have an impact," he said.

"There was almost two per cent of the total rates bill that was absorbed in those three major storm events that we had this financial year, the last one being on the first of May.

Andrew Gibbs in front of one of his light creations used during the G20.Credit: Sarah Keyes

"So two per cent is a fair bit. It's a lot of money and it obviously has an impact.

"It would have meant, without those major events, that we could have kept rates down a little lower this year."

Mooney Memorial Fountain at the corner of Queen and Eagle streets.Credit: Google Street View

Much of the new spending commitments, such as the $80 million Inner City Bypass widening, the $11 million improvement to Edward Street, $6 million in Mt Coot-tha tourism investments and the refurbishment of first-generation CityCats had been announced in the weeks leading up to the budget.

There would also be $100 million spent resurfacing 380 suburban streets across the city.

While there was new spending, another major infrastructure project had been scrapped.

The planned Kangaroo Point pedestrian bridge would no longer go ahead, Cr Quirk said, unless the state government came to the party.

Public fountains would return to Brisbane after they were turned off during last decade's drought.

Cr Quirk said $2.2 million would be spent restoring fountains at EE McCormick Place at Upper Roma Street, Emma Miller Place at Roma Street and the Mooney Memorial Fountain at the corner of Queen and Eagle streets.

Even with the emerging El Nino weather pattern in the Pacific region, Cr Quirk said the timing of the fountains' return was appropriate.

"I think we're a long way off talking about another long drought," he said.

"We've had so much rain in this city over the past few years, I think drought's the last thing that's on this city's mind at the moment although our hearts continue to go out to people in western Queensland and the struggles that they have.

"We think the time is now right to bring back fountains.

"You might recall we only had 14 per cent of water supply left in this city when we turned those fountains off.

"We're in a strong position now in terms of the dams and water and we think the time's right."

The location of the new fountain was yet to be decided but Cr Quirk ruled out King George Square at this stage.

A further $1.6 million would be spent on a 'City of Lights' program, which would replicate the light shows on city buildings during the G20 leaders' summit.

"We know from the Christmas festivities, we know from the G20, that people really vote with their feet in terms of coming in and seeing the city lit up," he said.

"So what we are going to start as a part of this budget is a new emphasis around creating an exciting Brisbane as a 'city of lights' and there are financial commitments to start that process in a significant way in this budget."