Coronavirus: Council green plans canned to help put budgets in the black

Green projects have been put on council backburners as the financial impacts of the pandemic force reprioritised spending.

Plans for new bicycle lanes have been put on hold in Melbourne. Picture: David Caird

Some of the country’s greenest municipalities have put much-vaunted climate-related projects on the backburner as the financial impacts of the coronavirus pandemic forces them to reprioritise spending.

The City of Yarra, which covers Melbourne’s inner suburbs, has announced several major initi­atives would not go ahead as expected this coming financial year, including a plan to provide every household with four waste removal bins. Plans for new bicycle lanes have been put on hold, along with a $700,000-plus move to transition council-owned properties away from gas hot water and heating.

Fellow Melbourne council the City of Port Phillip has also flagged deferral of environmental and sustainability projects as it grapples with a $30m revenue hole, while Darebin council in the city’s north, which made history in 2016 by being the first municipality to vote on declaring a “climate emergency”, has signifi­cantly reduced forecast expendi­ture in the service area responsible for sustainability, environment and natural resources.

The decisions have come as local governments everywhere face significant financial losses after COVID-19 forced a closure of council-operated facilities, such as recreation and community centres, and shut off numerous revenue streams.

Melbourne City Council last month revealed a $100m hit to its draft 2020-21 budget, contributing to an underlying deficit of $57.4m — its first deficit in 30 years. It has allocated $32m from its $632m budget towards climate action.

Port Phillip’s chief financial officer, Dennis O’Keeffe, told a recent budget forum the council would need to prioritise investing in activities that stimulated economic recovery. He said the council had already identified $23m of savings and would need to identify further efficiencies.

Questions and answers from the event, published on the City of Port Phillip website, say the council would continue to deliver its environment and sustainability strategy in the coming year, “including community education and support programs”.

However, because of “COVID-19 budget constraints, some projects have been deferred to the 2021-22 financial year, and community programs will be reprioritised to focus on essential elements of the COVID recovery”.

Yarra mayor Misha Coleman said in a message to ratepayers that despite delays, “we remain committed to delivering projects that address the climate emergency and improve our neighbourhoods in the near future.

“We … will be considering these in our mid-year budget review, once the full economic impact of COVID-19 is better understood,” she said.

Yarra councillor Stephen Jolly said the city’s “ night-time economy” had been ravaged by the pandemic and council had implemented a $7.4m rescue package in response. “The original plan was for only $2m,” he said. “As a consequence, some non-essential capital works have been delayed.”