Fuel a budget woe for council

Written by Sally Evans and published 28 April 2006 in the Wangaratta Chronicle

SOARING petrol prices are expected to have a severe impact on the Rural City of Wangaratta as it launches into its council budget for 2006/07.

Mayor Don Joyce prepared for the worst after the cost of fuel topped nearly $1.45 a litre early yesterday. "The price of fuel will have an impact on a lot of things we do," he said.

"Particularly in road construction, where bitumen is a petroleum-based practice, and in any vehicular movement we may need. That concerns me a bit."

Council will begin preparation for its multi-million dollar budget next month for adoption in June. The document is set to determine capital works expenditure and residential rates for the next 12 months.

Cr Joyce remained tight-lipped about what rate rises could be in store for Wangaratta residents, with previous increases ranging from 4.5 to 8.25 per cent over the past three years.

He did, however, say council had high hopes of securing additional funds in the state government budget to be released on Tuesday, May 30. "We're hopeful that there will be a good amount of funding coming to rural Victoria and we are hoping we can get some of that," he said.

High on the agenda for council are funding applications to construct the performing arts centre, senior citizens building and a replacement for the former Barr Reserve pavilion, known as the glasshouse.

Previous attempts to gain state government support for all of these projects have been unsuccessful over the past few years.

Watchdog Comment:

This should also be of concern to all residents outside the urban area. The maintenance of gravel roads in the upper King Valley area has all but ceased in rcent months and with the autumn rains due, we can only hope that the high cost of fuel does not prevent the RCoW from carrying out the works normally carried out to provide safe travel through the winter months.

The other major fuel cost of rural areas is the collection of garbage. Will the contractor be expected to carry the increased cost or will the rural ratepayers have to foot the bill?

The mayor's comment that, "Particularly in road construction, where bitumen is a petroleum-based practice, and in any vehicular movement we may need. That concerns me a bit." is an ominous sign that municipalities will find it too expensive to extend the made road network any further into the rural areas if we accept the expert advice that high petrol prices are here to stay.