By Mayor Clare Stewart
The coming few weeks are big ones for Council. On Wednesday 30 June 2021 Council will meet to adopt the 2021-22 budget. The $153 million draft budget includes a $47 million capital program- Council’s biggest ever. Big ticket projects which feature in the capital program include the Tewantin Bypass and the Hinterland Adventure Playground, which we are delivering with financial support from other levels of government. There’s a proposed $1.09 million investment in Noosa Spit to restore the dog beach, plus a host of missing pathway links and an upgrade of the intersection at Doonella Street and Memorial Avenue Tewantin. There’s greater investment in community grants- close to $1 million and a $100% increase in fire preparedness measures such as hazard burns and fire trail creation and maintenance. I am especially proud of these increases to fire preparedness and management as this was a key platform I campaigned on so it is terrific to see Council adopt such pro-active and increased measures to help prepare and protect our community for the upcoming fire season.
The good news is, despite all of the above expenditure and investment in capital infrastructure and grass roots spending for our community, 75% of ratepayers can expect a general rate increase of 1.4% which is below CPI. Overall, the owner of an average residential property on the minimum general rate will pay about $44 or 2.9% more, including levies and charges under the proposed budget.
This week we saw a new roundtable discussion instigated with key stakeholders to find a set of suitable solutions for Noosa’s Coastal Hazard Adaptation Plan (CHAP). This it to ensure we can work through the community’s concerns around the plan. The aim is to collaborate with the community to achieve a workable and agreeable solution for all. A further 4 roundtable meetings are planned with delegates from seven different stakeholder groups invited including- Hastings Street Association, Eastern Beaches Protective Alliance, Eastern Beaches Bushcare Collaborative, Noosa North Shore Residents Association, Noosaville Business Association, Peregian Family and Friends Association and Peregian Beach Community Association. Council has lobbied hard and received from the State Government an extension of time to finalise the Chap and I am hopeful we can achieve a workable solution for all concerned.
Increased spending on fire management is a big part of our budget, but we’re also taking aim at our bushfire risk facing our bushland reserves with a new fire management plan, endorsed by Council on 17 June 2021. It paves the way for up to 7 planned burns a year, 2 kilometres of brand-new fire trails and the widening of almost 2km of existing trails. We’ll also appoint a dedicated fire management officer to train up our own staff so we can carry out our own controlled burns without having to rely on private contractors who often aren’t available. It’s about being as proactive as possible when it comes to protecting the Shire from bushfires and acting on what was learned from the 2019 fires which burnt more than 2060 hectares of land.
