Council resigns as waterway manager

Strathbogie Shire Council has formally resigned from its role of Waterway Manager for the Goulburn River, from Hughes Creek to the Goulburn Weir including Lake Nagambie.

Mayor, Cr Laura Binks, said the decision was a challenging one, but Council was unable to secure funding from the Victorian Government to continue in the role.

“Delivering this service is costing Council, and in turn our ratepayers, between $150,000 to $200,000 each year,” Cr Binks said.

“We need to watch every cent of spending, and we can no longer continue to fund and deliver programs that are the responsibility of State or Federal government.”

Council advocated strongly for funding to deliver this important service.

At its October meeting Councillors endorsed Council’s continuation in the role under a shared service model with an external funding partner.

“However, this endorsement included the requirement that the shared service model be cost neutral for Council,” she said.

“Because this has not been achieved, we cannot continue as waterway manager.”

Cr Binks said our Council – like all small rural shires – was challenged by increasing costs, rate capping, limited revenue opportunities and growing responsibilities.

“We have asked Safe Transport Victoria to please provide us with the detail on how the waterway will be managed in the future so we can share this with our community,” Cr Binks said.

“I would also like to take the opportunity to thank the members of our Waterway Advisory Group, which have provided Council with significant support as we navigated the role of waterway manager.”