APC Remains Committed to Service Delivery

Council is committed to reviewing and adopting a budget each year that is thorough and ensures best practice in order to achieve positive outcomes for our community. Council’s 2020/21 Budget is no exception. In fact, our 2020/21 Budget, adopted on 8 July 2020, was premised on achieving an operating budget surplus of $83,292, minus consideration of potential carried forward projects, placing Council in a solid financial position.

As with any budget forecasting, some projects may not be completed within the financial year they have been budgeted. When this occurs, those uncompleted projects are not automatically incorporated into the current budget deliberations. Instead, uncompleted projects are separately reviewed by Council and may be confirmed to form part of the new budget as ‘carried forward’ projects.

The above approach is in accordance with Council policy, has been recommended as good practice by Council’s Audit Committee Independent Chairperson and is what occurred at the Council Meeting on 27 July 2020. Council Members endorsed a number of projects to be carried forward from 2019/20 to 2020/21, including operating projects in the amount of $1,256,767 and capital projects in the amount of $1,443,312. All carried over projects had been budgeted in previous financial years, however the money was either not borrowed or not spent, as forecasted.

As a result of Council carrying over a number of operating projects, the adjusted operating results for the 2020/21 financial year now forecasts an operating deficit of $1,173,475.

Council remains committed to attaining financial sustainability and we are confident that we are in a sound financial position to continue providing an excellent range of services for our community.

Mark Wasley

Mayor

29 July 2020