North Burnett Regional Council reveals which services will be reduced and cut to spearhead to dig itself out of economic turmoil

See which services have been cut under the North Burnett Regional Council’s 2021/22 budget.

North Burnett Regional Council have cut spending to a number of services including libraries, waste facilities and roads.. Photo/Facebook.

Months of community consultation about which services ratepayers would be willing to sacrifice to hoist the region out of deficit has concluded with the North Burnett Regional Council‘s 2021/2022 budget that details a significant reduction in services and slashes in spending.

North Burnett mayor Rachel Chamber and her colleagues held consultation sessions with residents across Gayndah, Biggenden, Eidsvold, Monto, Mundubbera and Mt Perry earlier this year, where they revealed “grave” budgetary concerns for the region, which they estimated would result in council running out of money by 2025 if drastic action wasn’t taken.

During the Between a Rock and a Hard Place tour, the council proposed changes to pools, waste, customer service and libraries, road maintenance and mowing, seeking community feedback to gauge a preliminary idea of what they would be willing to sacrifice.

A council spokesman said councillors adopted changes to a number of services in the 2021/2022 budget including libraries, waste facilities and roads. They include:

• Saturday trading at Customer Service and Library Centres have been scrapped at all six centres across the regions.
• Waste Management Facility hours at Biggenden, Eidsvold, Gayndah, Monto and Mt Perry will be open 12 hours a week (two weekdays and one day on the weekend.
• The Regional Landfill Facility in Mundubbera will operate 32 hours a week.

The spokesman said councillors also adopted a revised road maintenance program that “seeks to improve the frequency of our road maintenance across the region”.

Under this revision, council will cut spending by using a light maintenance grade method in combination with a revised heavy formation grading program on selected roads.

Heavy formation grading will fully restore a road, whereas light formation grading will restore a road enough to make it fit to drive on.

The program will save council over $1.5 million a year in operating costs and boost the level of service of the North Burnett‘s unsealed road network.

“The budget assumes three years of refining and reducing our operational expenses with steady, small growth to income over 10 years, as per the Statement of Comprehensive Income,” the council spokesman said.

In his 2021-22 Budget Speech, Acting Mayor Robbie Radel said council is still between a rock and a hard place, but now have a clear strategic direction on what is important, namely:

1. Essential Service Delivery – Getting the basics right
2. Sustainable Communities – To retain population and attract investment
3. Prosperous Future – To ensure economic growth for future generations

“We haven’t proposed huge rate rises or belligerent cuts to essential services,” Cr Radel said.

“This is a responsible budget, one based on providing a sustainable level of essential services to the community and getting the basics right.

“In each and every budgetary decision we can put our hand on our heart and say that we have taken into account the aspirations of our community while ensuring we meet our legislative accountabilities, our commitments to maintain our $1.1 billion of assets and our financial sustainability for the long-term.

“We have accepted the cards we have been dealt and forged a path to keep the dream alive.”