North Shore, Barwon Heads kick goals in Geelong council budget

Mayor Stretch Kontelj has heaped lofty praise on Geelong council’s 2025/26 budget, challenging any level of government in any state of Australia to “aspire to the same level of achievement”.

Geelong council has reinstated its existing level of funding for Pako Festa following a proposed 20 per cent cut in 2026. Picture: Phil Yeo.

Removal of a controversial fee, funding for a pair of local football clubs, and money that may lead to improved safety around a Geelong primary school are among the last-minute changes to City Hall’s budget for the coming financial year.

Councillors unanimously endorsed the 122-page document at their Tuesday night meeting, marking the end of a far less controversial process when compared to recent years.

Council has canned its $73 “permit to burn” fee following significant push back during a submissions period that followed the release of its draft budget in April.

The revenue was to fund an additional employee to help process the 2000-plus applications received annually, but strong opposition to the move, particularly from those on acreage, saw council relent.

Ongoing safety concerns regarding inadequate road infrastructure around Mount Duneed Regional Primary School has seen council find $150,000 for the “planning of footpaths” in the area.

The issue was highlighted by Libby Coker in her budget submission and while the funding is for formulating plans only, it is expected council would use federal government grant money to implement the upgrades, as suggested by the Corangamite MP.

“Once these plans are done I’ll be happy to drop them off to Libby’s office and will be very keen to see the funding forthcoming to build those footpaths,” councillor Andrew Katos said.

Mr Katos, whose Deakin ward takes in the school site, advocated for funding.

Other changes from the draft budget include $95,000 for “safety netting” at North Shore’s Windsor Park and $20,000 to subsidise maintenance of Barwon Heads’ home at Howard Hamer Reserve.

The funding for North Shore comes soon after Corio MP Richard Marles committed $4m for Windsor Park upgrades during the federal election campaign.

Those works include new cricket nets, enhanced lighting over two netball courts, and improvements to the main pavilion.

City Hall had already allocated $464,029 in the 2025/26 budget for the pavilion upgrade.

Mayor Stretch Kontelj. Picture: Alison Wynd.

Funding for the annual Pako Festa returned to $100,000 following a 20 per cent cut in the draft budget, while mayor Stretch Kontelj’s pet project of a weekly market on Little Malop St between Moorabool and Yarra streets has been also been allocated $100,000.

Mr Kontelj wants it to resemble Hobart’s Salamanca Market and expects it to commence in early September.

“Our intention is to seek expressions of interest to be the coordinator of the market,” he said. “We’re looking for people who are experienced in putting together markets that are renowned for their destination, we’re looking for something special.”

Salamanca Market in Hobart. Picture: Alastair Bett.

A projected surplus of $509,000 has replaced a deficit of $3.4m, thanks in part to greater clarity of council’s provision of aged care services.

There are no new borrowings and council debt is expected to fall to $136m by 2029.

A push by Mr Kontelj and deputy mayor Ron Nelson to freeze rates failed to eventuate, but the proposed 2.5 per cent increase is below the state government’s 3 per cent cap.

“We (this council) can be justifiably proud of beginning a number of very key achievements that taken together are quite extraordinary in the current climate, at any level of government,” Mr Kontelj said.

“Namely, a surplus budget, increased capital works expenditure, increased (asset) renewal expenditure, we’ve committed to no new loans for four years, committed to reduce debt over the next four years, and we’ve kept rate increases below the cap.

“Any which one of those is an achievement in itself, but we’ve achieved every single one in our first budget – I challenge any level of government to aspire to the same level of achievement.

“You will not find one in the whole of Australia.”

Originally published as North Shore, Barwon Heads kick goals in Geelong council budget