West Coast Council Mayor Phil Vickers said the passing of Council’s Annual Plan & Budget Estimates for the 2018/19 financial year on Tuesday night will see a significant investment in the community.

“It is unusual for such a small organisation as ours to be able to deliver $6.4 million worth of projects into the region, particularly given the enormous challenges we have faced in recent years” Mayor Vickers said.

“This will see Council rolling out more than 60 essential projects across the West Coast in the next financial year, all with a modest 2% rate increase and coming off 2 consecutive years of 0% general rate rises.”

This large investment has been made possible through Council’s unwavering commitment in recent years to find savings, cut costs and to successfully lobby other tiers of government to partner with Council on a range of important projects.

Mayor Vickers said Council had worked particularly hard to fully engage with the community to drive forward the ideas put forward in the West Coast Community Plan 2025 (WCCP 2025), including offering multiple opportunities for the community to be involved in the budget preparation process itself.

“Prior to the creation of the Annual Plan & Budget Estimates for the 2018/19 financial year we asked the community to provide us with their priorities and I was pleased to see that a range of budget submissions were put forward as part of this process,” Mayor Vickers said.

“We also gave residents a further chance to give us their views before adopting a comprehensive budget that further builds on our work to date implementing the priorities identified in our Community Strategic Plan (WCCP 2025). I thank all those who took part in this opportunity.”

Some of the more significant proposals adopted as part of Council’s 2018-2019 Annual Plan & Budget Estimates include:

• $220,500 on upgrades or additions to various facilities including the Tullah Playground, Lake Burbury toilet block, Queenstown Oval, Zeehan clubrooms and others;
• $375,000 to implement recommendations made in the Sport and Recreation Review including playground upgrades;
• $250,000 to implement the new West Coast brand, including the establishment of a branding toolkit and developing new tourism platforms for the region;
• $350,000 on the rehabilitation of sections of Main and Hurst streets in Zeehan;
• $500,000 on the development of the Queenstown Gravity Mountain Bike Trails;
• $550,000 on the Macquarie Heads Campground Expansion Project;
• $100,000 to begin the Aged Care Strategy process; and
• $650,000 safety upgrade to Lynchford Rd, Queenstown.