ANNUAL PLAN AND BUDGET 2025-2026
Our 2025-2026 Annual Plan and Budget was approved with a rate increase of 3.7%.
Each year, we work out how much rate income we need based on the cost of running our services, looking after our infrastructure, and planning for new projects. We know many people are feeling the pressure of living costs, so we’ve done our best to keep rate increases as low as possible.
There are several factors in this year’s budget that will impact your rates. These come from property revaluations by the Office of the Valuer-General and a review of our waste management service charges.
You will notice updated property values listed on your 2025–2026 rates notice. This follows a revaluation process conducted by the Office of the Valuer-General, as part of its regular six-yearly cycle.
The Valuer-General provides three types of values for each property:
- Land Value – the value of the land only
- Capital Value – the total value of the land and any improvements (like buildings)
- Assessed Annual Value – the estimated yearly rental value of the property
These values are recorded in the official Valuation Roll for the Municipality and we use the Assessed Annual Value as the basis for calculating general rates.
These updated property values do not mean your rates will automatically go up or down. Rates are based on a combination of assessed annual values of properties and the revenue Council needs to deliver our services to the community. Whether your rates go up, down, or stay about the same will depend on how your property’s new value compares to changes across the municipality.
If you believe your property has been incorrectly valued, you can lodge a formal objection with the Office of the Valuer-General within 60 days of receiving your notice. For more information about the revaluation process or how to lodge an objection, visit: nre.tas.gov.au/land-tasmania
Changes to Waste Management Charges
We have reviewed how we charge for waste services to make the system clearer and fairer for everyone.
Currently, residential properties that receive kerbside garbage and recycling collections also pay for broader community waste services such as public bin collections, recycling centres, Bulk hard and green waste collections, Mornington Park waste levy and managing dumped rubbish. These services benefit the whole community, but until now, only households with kerbside bin collections have been covering the cost.
To make things fairer, we’re introducing a new “Community Waste Charge“. This will be added to all ratepayer accounts from 2025–2026, including properties that haven’t previously paid for waste management charges.
The change means:
- The cost of shared community waste services will now be spread more evenly across all properties.
- Properties with kerbside collection will see a small reduction in their current waste charges.
- Properties without previous waste charges will now contribute through the new Community Waste Charge.
This change helps ensure that our waste management charges are transparent and everyone contributes to the services that keep our whole community clean and safe.
Capital Works and Projects
Our capital budget for 2025-2026 provides funding for our core services, maintenance of our assets and new infrastructure growth. This budget commits $16.1 million for the following projects:
$6.1 million for roads and transport
$2.4 million for footpaths and cycleways
$2.5 million for stormwater infrastructure
$1.4 million for parks and reserves
$2.4 million for building works and facilities
$0.9 million for plant, equipment & ICT
$0.37 million for preliminary work on future capital projects
Some of the works and projects we will be undertaking this financial year as part of our Annual Plan include:
- Employ a Youth Officer to establish a Youth Hub in Sorell.
- Commence the Southern Beaches Structure Plan.
- Review of Sorell Township Urban Master Plan.
- Finalisation of the Blue Lagoon Weed Management Plan.
- Staged implementation of NRM Strategy.
- Planning for commencement of FOGO service in 2026.
- Commencement of Sorell Community Precinct.
- Construction of viewing platforms at Carlton and Park Beaches.
A full list of our Capital Works projects can be found here –
Balancing the Budget, Building our Community
Council is responsible for managing community money and resources wisely to provide services, maintain infrastructure, and plan for the future. We have recently updated our Financial Management Strategy to help us achieve this.
This Strategy is important because it helps ensure we stay financially strong while meeting the needs of our growing community and delivering on key projects.
Right now, we are in a good financial position. We have healthy cash flow, low debt, well-maintained assets, and enough money to keep renewing and maintaining those assets. Our everyday income covers our everyday expenses, which means our finances are sustainable.
The Strategy is based on a 10-year Long-Term Financial Plan. This helps guide decisions about our yearly budget, especially when it comes to balancing spending on new projects, maintaining current services, and ensuring future affordability.
Some of the key challenges we face are meeting the needs of a growing population and being ready for unexpected costs. We have been working with the community and other partners to create master plans and strategies for many of our future projects. These have been included in our budget planning where possible.
Over the next 10 years, we expect to spend $29.4 million on new and upgraded assets, with $8.9 million funded by Council. Another $33 million worth of projects are planned but not yet included in our budget. We will need to consider how these are funded, including applying for government grants and possibly contributing some of the funds ourselves.
All upcoming projects will be detailed in our Asset Management Strategy, due to be updated in the next twelve months.
Our future spending decisions will be based on need and affordability. We aim to keep our rate increases fair and manageable, and we’ll continue to seek grants and other funding to help deliver important projects for the community.
Our Financial Management Strategy is reviewed every year to make sure it stays up to date and relevant.