Council’s proposed 2016/17 budget was adopted for public consultation at its meeting in Glenlyon on 19 April 2016.
As part of Council’s Budget consultation process, we held a series of information sessions to enable residents and ratepayers to hear a summary of the Budget and to ask questions. We also discussed the revised Rating Strategy at these sessions.

The proposed 2016/17 Budget was open for public submissions until 5pm on Wednesday 25 May 2016. A special meeting to hear public submissions will be held on Tuesday 7 June 2016, and the draft Budget 2016/17 will go to the Tuesday 21 June 2016 Council meeting for adoption.

Click here to download the proposed Budget 2016/17

Council will install 118kW of photovoltaic (solar panel) systems on seven of the most energy intensive facilities across the Shire.  This is an initiative under Council’s Toward Zero Emissions program, which aims to achieve carbon neutrality across Council’s operations.

Site	System Size
Creswick Hub	20kW
Creswick Depot	14kW
Creswick VIC	8kW
Doug Lindsay	12kW
Daylesford Town Hall	20kW
Daylesford Depot	24kW
Victoria Park Daylesford Community Facility	20kW
	118kW Total

Greenhouse gas emission reductions from this initiative equate to:

• 200 tonnes
• or 11% of Councils (2014-2015) emissions
• or emissions from 17 households
• or taking 32 cars off the road.

An extensive tender process has paid dividends as Council was able to secure extremely competitive commercial market pricing through bulk purchasing of this equipment.   This represents a financial payback of 7.5 years.

The installation will include smart meter monitoring which will allow real time analysis of renewable solar energy generated, compared to overall facility consumption. It will also pinpoint any opportunities to further improve the energy efficiency of each of the sites. 

Other projects undertaken under the Toward Zero Emissions program include.

• upgrade to LED streetlights
• bio-diesel for heavy vehicle fleet
• waste to Energy Feasibility Study.

Council has also provided $40,000 to community groups toward energy saving initiatives through the Community Grants program.

The CFA’s Chief Officer has approved a variation of the Fire Danger Period removing restrictions for our region on 11 April 2016.  For more information visit www.cfa.vic.gov.au/warnings-restrictions/

Burning off grass, stubble, weeds, undergrowth or other vegetation is generally permitted outside the Fire Danger Period.  For information on burning off visit www.cfa.vic.gov.au/plan-prepare/burning-off/