SPEECH: Mayor Darren Power
Mayor Darren Power: 2023/24 Budget
Good morning. It is a pleasure and a privilege to deliver the fourth and final Budget of this Logan City Council term.
As Mayor, I have been pleased to lead the 12 Councillors sitting here today as we aspired to high standards of good governance for the City of Logan from the very first day.
When we were elected in March 2020, only four of us had previous experience in local government.
But the nine newly elected Councillors were not scared to roll up their sleeves and get to work.
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They quickly demonstrated the leadership and decision-making skills necessary for a billion-dollar organisation that delivers a diverse and unique range of services and programs to the community.
We have now delivered four budgets representing responsible decision making and good fiscal management while also setting up the organisation for long-term success.
Our legacy is that the organisation has raised the bar in how it serves and interacts with the community.
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City of Logan Mayor Darren Power addresses the highlights and challenges of this year's budget.
We have set the high standards of governance that will continue in future Council terms.
The community should expect nothing less from whoever sits in this chamber in years to come.
Strong values are the foundation to good decision making and leadership.
Robust decision making is what makes local government special.
We’ve held each other to account over the past three years with our minds always fixed on what is the best outcome for the whole city, regardless of which division we represent.
It hasn’t always been easy – but we have all committed to working with each other collaboratively.
Our CEO Darren Scott, supported by his Executive Leadership Team, is driving the most intense program of operational reform since our city’s boundaries expanded 15 years ago.
As this reform continues, the organisation will be able to better focus on the future services and infrastructure needed for a city that will one day be home to half a million people.
When our region hosts the Olympic and Paralympic Games in 2032 – less than 10 years away – the City of Logan will be a leader of the pack.
And that in part is due to the decisions we have made this term.
We have faced the emerging needs and our community’s changing expectations with confidence.
One example of this is how we’ve led the charge on converting waste into energy.
Our biosolids gasification facility has been operational for more than a year, turning human waste into energy and biochar fertiliser.
We’ve also been working with our neighbours in Ipswich and Redland to plan a regional recycling facility that will develop a sustainable local circular economy.
This is just the start of our plans to be a leader in this space.
I have been an elected representative for the City of Logan for 26 years.
I cannot recall many times as challenging as what we are seeing in the economy now – around the world, across Australia and here in our city.
There are a lot of things that are beyond Council’s control.
We’re feeling similar soaring costs that are impacting residents and businesses.
We’ve seen some of our stock-standard shopping list items increase in price by more than 30 per cent.
Electricity, fuel and construction costs are biting hard.
Changes to the waste levy imposed by the Queensland Government also mean it is going to cost more each year for every tonne of waste we send to landfill.
That’s why it was imperative that we look strategically at how our organisation operates and spends ratepayers’ funds.
We were also conscious of improving efficiencies without impacting service delivery.
Despite the challenges we’ve experienced, I strongly believe the budget we are presenting here today balances the books in a high-inflation environment while ensuring long-term sustainability.
At the end of the 2023/24 financial year, we are projecting an operating surplus of $3.89 million.
Most residential ratepayers will see a bottom-line increase of $2.28 per week – or 4.09 per cent – in the new financial year.
This is well below the Brisbane CPI of 7.4 per cent in the March quarter.
We will deliver new and improved infrastructure across the City of Logan, including $159 million for water and sewerage services (as part of an overall budget of $379.5 million), $121 million for roads and drainage upgrades (as part of an overall budget of $265.2 million) and $13.4 million for parks capital works (as part of an overall budget of $63 million).
We also continue to support grassroots sport and community infrastructure to keep our neighbourhoods connected.
Importantly, our much-loved programs and services will continue to operate – from libraries and pools to community events and environmental initiatives, and everything in between.
Our city’s 350,000 residents deserve the very best quality of life.
And they can be assured that aspiration will always be front of mind in every decision we make.
I now invite Governance Chair, Cr Karen Murphy, to share more details about today’s Budget.
