$70m earmarked for capital works as …

By Nicole Williams
GREATER Dandenong ratepayers will pay 5.5 per cent more in rates in the coming year, after a $114 million budget was approved by the council on Monday night.
Rates will contribute $75.7 million towards council revenue.
Mayor Roz Blades said the rate rise was in line with the council’s overall financial plan and would increase rates by an average of 74 cents a week for residents.
The budget was praised by Councillor John Kelly at the meeting, who spoke on behalf of the other councillors when he congratulated staff who had worked on it.
Cr Kelly said the budget set the council up for a promising year.
The capital works component, worth $69.7 million, includes the next stage of the Noble Park Pool project, $9.2 million towards a new municipal building/library project and $5.2 for road resurfacing.
Updating ageing infrastructure was highlighted as a key priority for the year, with $6.58 million committed in the budget.
“In our particular case the challenge is beginning to become urgent as much of our key infrastructure was built in the 1960s and ’70s and is beginning to reach the end of their useful lives,” the budget said.
The budget was available for residents’ submissions for four weeks before it was formally adopted.
Only two submissions were received.