Multiple elected representatives are worried people's eyes might glaze over when they are asked to read a new "asset management plan".

That would be a mistake, they said as they approved a draft for community consultation on Monday night.

Cr David Fagg warned that without feedback, communities could find the asset plan used to justify assets being decommissioned.

"This really does relate to the bread and butter of what council spends our money on," he said.

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The warnings come after the consultants behind the draft specifically highlighted problems around ageing but beloved aquatic facilities throughout Greater Bendigo.

They said pools exemplified some of the major problems around old assets.

"These old facilities often struggle to (or cannot) meet today's standards for equitable access, safety and health, or are inefficient, with high operational costs," the consultants said.

They noted that communities rarely asked for assets to be decommissioned, "often for fear of losing a service or facility, regardless of the viability of that asset or service".

Cr Jennifer Alden said a separate aquatic facilities plan would have a greater role in shaping funding decisions on pools, which she wanted to see more money go to.

But she said the plan would be important for a council trying to work out how to manage more than 1000 council owned assets ranging from buildings to roads.

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Getting the funding mix right over the next decade was was going to be difficult Cr Margaret O'Rourke said.

The council had inherited six previous councils' assets during 1990s amalgamations and was now juggling a forecasted $649.5 million asset management spend over the coming decade, she said.

"It means we have to work hard and make decisions about what we keep and what we don't keep, and how we work through what we renew," Cr O'Rourke said.

Cr Rod Fyffe warned that the council's budget was likely to be stretched tighter over time, not least from state government controls "completely divorced from reality".

He said Victorian authorities should allow councils more room for yearly rate rises given the huge inflationary pressures faced in 2022.

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