Toowoomba Regional Council (TRC) has adopted an amended 2022/23 Annual Budget at a Special Meeting of Council earlier today (31 October).
As part of the amended Budget, TRC Finance and Business Strategy Chair Cr Geoff McDonald said Council now forecasted a surplus for this financial year.
"When we adopted the Budget back in June we originally forecast a deficit of about $5.8 million however, we are now potentially looking at a surplus of almost $3.5 million," Cr McDonald.
"The main reason for this significant turnaround is largely due to the timing of payments received through the Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangements (DRFA). When we adopted the Budget in June we didn't have as much information on the works which would be required, however the delivery of these works are now more known.
"In addition to this, Council is generating more interest revenue on the back of the RBA rate rises.
"While this is encouraging and will help offset the deficit we recorded in the 2021/22 financial year, we need to be cautious as it's an incredibly volatile environment at the moment.
"Inflation figures are now at 7.3% and interest rates continue to fluctuate, highlighting the need for us to have contingency options in place to manage our finances responsibly.
"We've seen electricity and fuel costs continuing to rise and we need to take into account factors such as weather impacts, availability of supplies and the availability of staffing/contractors.
"While we've budgeted for these factors, the increasing cost of living means we need to keep a close watch on any further changes in the market."
During the meeting on Monday, Councillors also voted in favour of allocating further funds to a number of ongoing and new projects.
"We've allocated a further $400,000 for implementation of the first project delivery agreements for the Central Highfields Divestment Strategy," Cr McDonald said.
"With the growth in Highfields we know the community is eager to see this project progress so I'm pleased to see funding for this piece of work.
"We've also provided extra funding for the Green Waste and Timber Processing Contract due to increased volumes and price increases as well as funding for land acquisitions."
The revised Budgeted Net Operating surplus of $3,468,325 and the proposed Capital Works Program of $159,280,366 are within the parameters of Council's Long Term Financial Forecast.
