Cade Lucas
Wyndham council achieved an operating surplus of $300 million in the 2022-23 financial year, up from $293 million in the previous year thanks in part to increased revenue from fees and fines and higher interest on investments.
These results were contained in Wyndham council’s Annual Report which
received unanimous support from councillors at their monthly meeting on Tuesday night.
Council’s adjusted underlying result was a $36.7 million deficit, just below the $36.8 million projected in the budget.
The report also showed 47 out of the 67 initiatives council undertook in the year to June 30 were completed, with 28 behind schedule and two abandoned.
The successfully completed initiatives contributed to $131 million of council’s $167 million capital works budget being used, with the Point Cook Bike Path, upgrades to six sporting pavilions and almost 60km of new roads among the projects to be finished, while the Regional Football Facility in Tarneit and the new Truganina Community Centre are among those that have commenced.
Essential services highlighted in the report include the collection of more than five million garbage bins, the loaning of more than 2 million library items, leisure facilities hosting almost 2 million visitors and the completion of 50 citizenship ceremonies.
Council’s overall satisfaction rating remained in the good category at 6.62, while 65 per cent of the service performance indicators in the Local Government Performance Reporting Framework were judged to be favourable or unchained.
In moving the report, deputy mayor Jennie Barrera highlighted the Her Bright Future Program and Reconciliation Action Plan as initiatives she was particularly proud of and praised council officers for putting the report together.
“I think it’s a fantastic presentation of the activities, the achievements and the challenges of the last full financial year of work,” Cr Barrera said.
No councillors spoke against the report, though councillor Heather Marcus warned that more needs to be done for older people in the municipality.
