FRANKSTON Council’s budget for the next financial year has been approved.
The final budget is mostly unchanged from its draft form. It enforces an average rate rise of 0.57 per cent on residential properties, 14.8 per cent for commercial properties, and 33.05 per cent for industrial properties.
Frankston Council projects a nearly $28 million accounting surplus for 2023/2024. Its budget for infrastructure projects in the next financial year is more than $78 million. Grant funded expenditure of more than $20 million for a commuter car park at Kananook Station is the largest project council is set to undertake in the next year.
Councillors voted through the budget at their 22 May meeting. Deputy mayor Liam Hughes and councillor Steven Hughes both opposed its approval, citing concerns about the cost of rates.
Frankston mayor Nathan Conroy said the budget would “build a vibrant and prosperous future for our city.”
“In my second year as mayor, I am very pleased to see so many initiatives we planned at the start of our council term come to fruition, and to see the impact of those initiatives on so many community members. Jubilee Park, Carrum Downs Recreation Reserve, activation of the bottom level of Frankston Yacht Club, the Frankston Business Collective, extensive upgrades at Ballam Park – all components of our previous year’s council plans, now all part of the fabric that is Frankston City,” Conroy said.
First published in the Frankston Times – 29th May 2023