Melbourne residents will cough up millions more dollars in rates and fees as the council raises charges to fund infrastructure projects and increase revenue.
The City of Melbourne announced its $850.7m draft budget on Tuesday, which will see it collect an extra $30.1m in rates and charges next financial year.
General rates will increase by 3.5 per cent – drawing in a projected $314.6m for the council, while public waste charges will go up by 21.8 per cent, costing residents more than $10m.
The council temporarily paused rate rises during the pandemic “to support residents and businesses”, costing it $17m.
The council will “modestly” increase more than 60 per cent of its fees and charges, drawing in $134m next financial year.
With new Sunday and after hours parking charges expected to be enforced from July, the council hopes to rake in more $50m in parking fees and nearly $40m in parking fines.
The City of Melbourne plans to spend $13.4m on ‘footpaths and cycleways’.
The City of Melbourne plans to splash $247.5m on infrastructure, including $60m for the Queen Victoria Market Precinct renewal, $17m for its Greenline Project and $13.4m on “footpaths and cycleways”.
This includes new protected bike lane projects at Flinders St, Royal Parade, Arden St and Macaulay Rd.
It has pledged $12m to “renew roads, footpaths and boost safety”, including $4.2m to fix potholes and improve road surfaces, and will spend $28m for the Kensington Community Aquatic and Recreation Centre redevelopment.
The council will also splash $60.9m on cleaning and safety, $28.2m on events and festivals, $13.4m on libraries and $26.5m on parks, gardens and tree maintenance.
The City of Melbourne will spend $206m on staff and labor costs, with full time wages to increase by 2.8 per cent.
Despite increased spending, the council has plunged further into debt, borrowing $234.8m and recording an underlying deficit of $17.1m, compared to $11.7m last year.
But the council remains confident it will return to surplus in 2025-2026, with the budget forecasting its total operating expenditure to increase by 5.8 per cent to $583.3m.
The 2023/34 budget will undergo community consultation before being considered by council in June.