KINGSTON Council posted a surplus of $42 million in the last financial year. The healthy surplus, which includes grants and contributions from other levels of government, was revealed in council’s annual report published last week. The report read that the result was “$30.1 million favourable to the adopted budget of $11.8 million and was also $16.4 million favourable compared to the $25.5 million surplus reported in 2024–25.” Kingston Council reported spending $93.6 million on infrastructure projects in the 2025/2026 financial year, $9.9 million below the approved budget. The annual report read that “the overall variance to budget is primarily due…
Author: Brodie Cowburn
THE state opposition has thrown its support behind a push to prevent open space near Mentone Station from being redeveloped. The state government has rezoned the publicly-owned land at 79 Balcombe Road for development of up to six storeys. The rezoning has sparked calls to keep the land out of the hands of developers, with Kingston councillors recently voting to explore an “in-principle offer” to the state government to purchase the site (“Council launches bid to save open space” The News 4/9/2026). Last week, Sandringham MP Brad Roswell visited the Mentone site to announce that if elected, the Liberals would…
THE construction of a 15 storey apartment building has been proposed for 8 Davey Street in Frankston. The 15-storey proposal includes 142 dwellings, 83 residential hotel rooms, a conference centre, and a food and drink premises. The plans include an eastern tower standing 48.23 metres tall and a western tower with a maximum height of 50.47 metres. Plans to redevelop the site have been in the works for years. In 2021, the derelict building which sits on the 8 Davey Street site went up in flames. (“Demolition-bound building up in flames” The Times 13/12/2021) Frankston Council will consider that latest…
FRANKSTON Council posted a surplus of $26.52 million in the 2025/2026 financial year, its annual report has revealed. In the 2025/2026 financial year, Frankston Council spent $71.8 million of ratepayer money on infrastructure projects. $30.1 million of that was spent on improving existing assets. In the annual report released last week, Frankston Council’s CEO Tennille Bradley said “despite ongoing cost pressures and the increasing demands on local government, council continued to invest in the infrastructure, services and programs our community relies on. We completed major projects including Seaford Place, Langwarrin Place, Sandfield Reserve and the Frankston Arts Centre forecourt, while…
KINGSTON Council is considering changes to its current meeting procedures on the advice of the state government-appointed municipal monitors. Kingston Council was under monitor observation from 25 August 2025 to 14 August 2026, at a cost of more than $1000 a day to ratepayers. The monitors’ report into Kingston Council has not yet been publicly released. While at Kingston Council, the monitors offered advice on council meeting rules and procedures. Council is now consulting residents on some of those proposed changes. Among the changes proposed by the monitors was a ban on “en-bloc” voting. This would prohibit multiple items on…