Merri-bek City Council’s 2024-28 Budget focuses on major new community facilities, funds a range of community ideas and delivers important everyday services. Council adopted its final budget of this Council term at its Special Council Meeting on 26 June.

The budget features big-ticket community infrastructure, including the completion of the $36.9 million Fawkner Leisure Centre Stage 1 revamp and the new $29.0 million Saxon Street Cultural and Community Hub.

The budget also allocates $23.6 million to improving parks, open space and streetscapes, $4.6 million for delivering footpaths, bike paths and transport infrastructure, and $18.9 million for renewing roads and carparks.

Merri-bek City Council Mayor Adam Pulford said the 2024-28 Budget provided quality community infrastructure and continued to fund valued services for Merri-bek's growing, diverse community.

“I’m proud that Council is delivering on our commitment to build new and improve existing major community facilities, including the Saxon Street Community Hub and Fawkner Leisure Centre, while making sure we are investing in our everyday services that our community needs and deserves,” Cr Pulford said.

“We are making it safer and easier for people to get around our community by building more walking and cycling infrastructure. I’m proud that this budget exceeds our commitment to spend $12 of rates funding per head on active transport, and that this will continue to rise each year in line with the rate cap.

“We are also improving our parks, open space and streetscapes with a $23.6 million investment.”

Included in the budget is more than $27.8 million towards upgrades for several early years facilities over the next 5 years, including Oak Park Kindergarten and the Brunswick Early Years Hub. This will create more much-needed kindergarten places for our community. 

Some of the other key highlights of the budget in 2024-25 are:

• A capital-works program of $92.7 million, to build new and improve existing community infrastructure and maintain community assets
• Investing in environmental sustainability, including providing grants to support low-income households to install insulation and solar panels at home, as well as many other initiatives and programs
• Roads and carparks renewal and maintenance ($18.9 million)
• Delivering the final year of the Council Plan 2021-25.

In November 2023 Council invited the community to suggest their ideas through our Community Budget Ideas initiative. This is the third year Council has run this initiative and it has continued to grow in popularity among the community.

We are investing $399,000 (higher than the $250,000 originally set aside) to 6 fantastic ideas suggested by community members, with more than 1,200 people voting for their favourites. This includes:

• Accelerating the installation of sunshades over Merri-bek’s playgrounds
• Installing more seats on walking routes to shops and drinking fountains in shopping strips
• Funding the Take the First Step Merri-bek (domestic violence prevention)
• Building a half-court basketball ring in Glenroy and a free basketball court and soccer field in Fawkner

“A big thank you to community members who shared the projects and initiatives they are passionate about, as well as everybody who voted for their top priorities. It’s exciting that Council has chosen to back so many of your great ideas,” Cr Pulford said.

Council received 83 submissions from the community during the consultation period on the draft budget in April/May, and the final budget passed includes some of these key ideas, such as:

• $110,000 to fund the masterplan for Breese & Hope Street;
• $100,000 to co-fund the upgrade of cricket nets for Raeburn Reserve;

• $40,000 to fund technical design works for a second hockey field at McDonald Reserve;

• $30,000 to co-fund the concept design for Fawkner Netball Club;$30,000 to support the concept design and engagement relating to the potential shared use arrangement of the Glenroy College oval; and
• $21,600 supporting food relief efforts by the Wholefoods Unwrapped Collective

The 2024-28 budget is an important document as it sets out how we will keep the organisation financially sustainable – and how we will fund the delivery of the Council Plan, Council’s strategies and action plans, and core services.

Increases to waste-collection costs and a reduction in State Government funding has had a flow-on effect to kerbside waste charges, with the standard kerbside waste charge increasing by about $0.52 per week.

The final budget is available on our Budget page.