The LCC Budget Overview (click here to access the document) is a most instructive document but more so for what it does not say.
The so called ‘Budget Overview’ is labelled a ‘fact sheet’ that purports to inform the Launceston ratepayers about the budget. No doubt it is designed to make the ratepayers feel good about their rates bill after the budget has been set.
Despite the fact that a budget is usually about dollars, there is scant data on the dollars in the budget. It takes until the last page for the reader to discover that the combined operating and capital expenditure program of the council is $86.2 million. At best, the document gives information on about than $24 million, or less than 30% of the total budget. Where the remaining $60 million spent is not explained in this fact sheet.
The document treats expenditure under a series of headings; Services, Capital Programme, Community Facilities, and Parks and Recreation.
Services
Despite the fact that a budget is usually about dollars, there is scant data on the dollars in the budget. It takes until the last page for the reader to discover that the combined operating and capital expenditure program of the council is $86.2 million. At best, the document gives information on about than $24 million, or less than 30% of the total budget. Where the remaining $60 million spent is not explained in this fact sheet.
The document treats expenditure under a series of headings; Services, Capital Programme, Community Facilities, and Parks and Recreation.
Services
The document leads with this category. The table below summarises the headings provided and the expenditure data provided on. Note that a ‘special project’ is a mobile maintenance crew, raising the question, are the others crews immobile?
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Capital Works
CLICK ON THE TABLE TO ENLARGEThe information provided on this is the most comprehensive of all the categories, we are told the total capital programme is $22.4 million and we are given information of about one third of this expenditure, just over $8 million.
The wording used is interesting generally the smallest budget allocations merit the largest amount of spin. The section of flood protection on page 5 deals with the $62 million Flood Levee Redevelopment Programme and states that work has commenced yet does not explain how much has been budgeted for this project.
The following much longer paragraph, waxes lyrical on $500,000 expenditure for Kings Meadows Flood Mitigation. The paragraph after this, - The Stormwater reports on $1.4 million that has been allocated to stormwater reticulation and that this includes the $500,000 allocated to Kings Meadows Flood Mitigation under flood mitigation. 
CLICK ON THE TABLE TO ENLARGE
Community Facilities, Parks and Recreation.By now the reader has probably given up, overwhelmed as she/he would be from having to process so many facts. The remaining categories are Community Facilities and Parks and Recreation. In most cases the figure given is for capital expenditure. Throughout the document there is occasional reference to what is likely to be operational expenditure – immunization program and mobile maintenance crew for instance, but it is not generally clear.
In summary, the ‘fact’ sheet accounts, at best, for about $24 million of expenditure in a budget of $86.2 million, as such, it poses more questions than it answers. You too can share in the joy of reading it, go to the link below and judge for yourself.
GM Robert Dobrzynski should be congratulated on setting yet another benchmark for spin and opacity.
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You could contact the aldermen seeking further clarification, but then again they are unlikely to have been given, or demanded, much more information than this before they went about setting the rate.
In summary, the ‘fact’ sheet accounts, at best, for about $24 million of expenditure in a budget of $86.2 million, as such, it poses more questions than it answers. You too can share in the joy of reading it, go to the link below and judge for yourself.
GM Robert Dobrzynski should be congratulated on setting yet another benchmark for spin and opacity.
CLICK ON THE TABLE TO ENLARGEINVITATION: The TRA welcomes your comments. It matters not whether you agree with this assessment of Launceston's new GM's first budget for the city or not, TRA would like to hear from you. Make a comment below and if you feel so disposed please give it a mark out of 10 as a RATEPAYER.
1 comment:
Congratulations on establishing this new blog.
The matters being debated in the community are very interesting and I welcome everyone's contribution.
Having been a member of the Launceston Ratepayers Association since it was founded,(now Tsamanian Ratepayers Association) I can not express my pleasure more highly.
Keep up the good work everyone.
Signed Foundation Member
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