Council portfolio lead for finance Cr Chanel Gardner said, in a statement, at a headline level the result showed the council remained in a strong financial position at a time when many councils around the country were under considerable pressure.
Year to date, the council was reporting a surplus of $9.469 million, about $6.959m ahead of budget, and the full-year forecast was sitting at a surplus of $7.252m.
Cr Gardner said key drivers of the variance were largely timing-related, particularly planning underspend where work was on hold, the $2m large-scale environment fund shifting into next year, favourable public transport performance and timing differences across flood, drainage and river management programmes.
Capital expenditure also remained under budget in the year to date, primarily reflecting the timing of flood and drainage works programmes, she said.
The papers also highlighted continued balance sheet strength, including managed funds sitting at about $31.4m at quarter end, with the financial markets already recovering following late-quarter international volatility.
‘‘More broadly though, these reports reflect an organisation increasingly focused on long-term thinking, disciplined delivery and pragmatic financial management during what is arguably one of the biggest periods of change for local government and environmental management in decades,’’ Cr Gardner said.
‘‘I also think they reflect a very clear governance focus on core business, achievable outcomes for communities and ensuring ORC enters the long-term plan process from a position of financial resilience and stability,’’ she said.
Policy and planning expenditure was under budget for the year to date and forecast to maintain that trend, with the full year underspend forecast at $3.533m across the three planning activities. The forecast also assumed the $2m large-scale fund would not be spent.
‘‘Overall, these are strong results, and I suspect many councils nationally would be pleased to be presenting a similar position right now,’’ she said.
Central government changes to the structure of local government propose to end the existence of 11 regional councils around the country in two years. — Allied Media
