May 10 2022

Our draft Budget highlights many exciting projects

We’re pleased to present the draft AlburyCity Budget for 2022-23, and hope you will take the time to review the plan, and see the many exciting projects that are in store for our community. The budget for the coming year has been developed considering your input and feedback, and aligns with the things you told us were important during consultation for our Albury 2050 Community Strategic Plan.

It includes our Four Year Delivery Program 2022-26, recognising the actions that our Councillors have committed to deliver with us over their term, as well as our Operational Plan 2022-2023 which highlights the key initiatives and projects we’ll be working on over the next financial year.

We know that improved connectivity across our city is high on your priority list, so we’ll be working on a number of key road upgrades such as the Thurgoona Link Roads to provide better connectivity to the Hume Freeway. The Albury Bike Loop project is another exciting project that will look at on-road cycle lanes to create a connected cycle network within the Albury CBD, and connect to existing cycle paths.

Our teams will also be working hard to ensure clean drinking water continues to flow from taps with our annual water main replacement/renewal program, as well as our annual sewer rehabilitation program which will keep our pipes in working order.

Our Councillors and our community are passionate about climate action and ensuring we are prepared for our changing climate. An important project for this year is the construction of a new Material Recovery Facility at the Albury Waste Management Centre to enable us to more efficiently process building materials and cater for future growth across our region. We’ll also be ensuring we are better prepared for future flood events with the realignment and upgrade of a section of levee within Australia Park, together with stormwater drainage improvements across the City.

One project we are particularly excited about is the highly anticipated Albury Riverside Precinct, which will further build on the Murray River Experience, giving locals and visitors a place to wander and enjoy our iconic Murray River. Also in the works are the Alexandra Park Master Plan Reconstruction and the future Lauren Jackson Sports Centre Upgrade (subject to grant funding) which will add to our city’s varied recreation opportunities.

Our city is proud of its culture, arts and diversity, and it’s important that we continue to find new and innovative ways to celebrate this. We’re looking forward to building on the Albury Riverside Precinct with the installation of public artwork, adding more creativity to our vibrant shared spaces, and the restoration of the Historic Pumphouse will see it re-invented into a ‘maker space’ for local creatives and artisans.

And last but certainly not least is our focus on building on Albury’s reputation as a regional leader, through continued upgrades to key community facilities. The detailed design works for expansion of the Albury Entertainment Centre Convention Wing will ensure Albury is a premier destination for conference events, and bring more people to the region to experience what our city has to offer. We’ll also begin detailed design for construction of the second stage of the Albury Regional Emergency Operations Centre which will provide a new home for a number of our local emergency services, as well as joint training facilities for other emergency service agencies.

Our budget for 2022-23 is in the vicinity of $165m, and when all rates, water, sewer and waste management charges are combined, the average residential property can expect to contribute by way of an increase of $51, or 98 cents per week… representing an overall average increase of 1.8%.

I really encourage you to take a look at our draft plans and budget for the coming year, and invite you to find out more and Have your Say, or attend one of our community information sessions.