Balancing priorities for the path ahead

This body of work has now been considered by our elected Council and adopted in broad terms to move forward. This work brings together independent advice and direct feedback from our community, along with a deeper internal examination of our service delivery, and it provides the foundations to strengthen Council’s financial position over time.

At its core, this is about focus. We recently asked what matters most to you, and the response was clear: well-maintained roads, cared-for parks and gardens, clean public spaces, and safe, accessible footpaths. These are fundamental to a liveable city, and they will continue to help guide our decisions.

Importantly, the community also recognises the need for trade-offs to support long-term sustainability. There is an understanding that maintaining essential assets must come first, along with support for additional investment where it is clearly directed toward protecting core infrastructure.

At the same time, we need to be clear about the challenge ahead.

The cost of delivering services is rising faster than revenue. Addressing that gap requires deliberate choices, careful planning, and a willingness to rethink how we operate.

This next phase of work is critical.

We will continue to examine how we operate, identify efficiencies and look for better ways to deliver the services our community relies on. Some changes will be straightforward. Others will take time. All of them will require discipline and focus.

Just as importantly, they will require conversation.

Experience shows that when we take the time to engage properly - when we listen, test ideas, and bring people with us - we make better decisions. That applies equally to our community and to our organisation.

There are a range of interests to balance - community expectations, service levels, workforce considerations and long-term financial sustainability. These need to be carefully weighed. While there are no simple answers, there is a clear responsibility to work through these issues in a considered and transparent way.

Our role is to provide clear and evidence-based advice, informed by the community, to support decision-making. Those decisions ultimately rest with the elected Council.

The next step will be the presentation of the Draft Budget and Four-Year Delivery Program to the April Council meeting. These documents will outline how we respond to the challenges while maintaining focus on the services that matter most.

The work ahead is significant, but it is also an opportunity - to reset, to refocus and to ensure we are delivering what matters most, in a way that is sustainable for the long term.

Steve McGrath
Interim CEO, AlburyCity