GREATER Bendigo's new budget will contain no funding for the 2026 Commonwealth Games despite the state government's recent announcement that the city will host athletes.
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The council's 2022/23 budget is among two major policies passed on Monday night with disclaimers about potential Games funding that are still to become clear with four years to go.
The state government announced Bendigo would be one of four regional Victorian hosts in April, giving the state's decision makers a very tight turn-around time to organise for the international event.
Exactly what the Games might mean for Bendigo remains unclear, council staff told councillors before they locked in the budget for the financial year beginning this Friday.
"The quantum of this investment is yet to be determined in detail - but will certainly be a key part of future budgets," council staff said in a report before Monday's vote.
Draft budgets for other host cities including Geelong and Ballarat's are also light on Commonwealth Games spending, though the state government has previously said key decisions including potential Bendigo athlete village sites could be finalised by the end of the year.
The council is also yet to learn how the Commonwealth Games could shape a second key policy document elected officials settled on when they met on Monday.
Cr Margaret O'Rourke is among those who believe the Games will shape the way the current council is remembered.
"The Comm-Games athlete's village will be a legacy for us," she said on Monday.
Councillors also approved a 10-year plan for managing assets, which covered everything from pools to roads and buildings.
Council staff hinted that they had already identified potential changes to that plan, but would only be able to make revisions as soon as new information becomes available.
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They have not specified exactly what that information is and where it needs to come from, but council officers have recently said they were working with the state government on a host of early plans.
The council has allocated $36 million to maintain its assets in the latest budget in its $152 million operating budget for the coming financial year.
The budget comes with a 1.75 per cent rate rise in line with controls decided by the state government.
That figure is supposed to reflect inflation.
Inflation is currently running at 3.5 per cent and council staff say they will find ways to absorb increasing costs and what they expect to be lower revenue.
"Construction costs are also likely to continue to increase significantly faster than the broader CPI - placing pressure on service delivery over the coming year," they said.
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