'Financial challenges' for City of Greater Bendigo's 2024/25 budget

The City of Greater Bendigo, facing a $33 million funding gap, is putting the question out to the public as it grapples with the 2024/25 budget.

As part of the process they are calling on residents to send in what they think should be priorities via the City's feedback platform, Let's Talk Greater Bendigo.

"This public engagement will help councillors understand community priorities and recurring themes and it will help inform the drafting of next year's Budget and Council Plan actions," Cr Metcalf said.

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Let's Talk Greater Bendigo lays out how it has has become a "financial challenge" to balance projects against the money to fund them.

The rate cap was 3.5 per cent for the 2023/24 budget, however with inflation growing to 5.4 per cent, a funding gap between costs of services and City income from rates has occurred.

Since 2016, the state government has capped the amount councils can increase general rates and charges

"Unfortunately, across the last few years there has been a big difference between how much our income has grown, and how much our costs have increased," the City's Let's Talk website said.

"This means that each year it is harder to keep delivering the services the community needs with the funding that we have."

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Bendigo mayor Cr Andrea Metcalf said the budget would fund 68 important services help maintain and renew infrastructure.

About 60 per cent of the City's annual revenue would come from rates, while the remaining money would come from user fees, charges and government grants.

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