Budget to be adopted

By Dion Teasdale
THE SHIRE of Yarra Ranges’ 2006/2007 budget is expected to be formally adopted by council next Tuesday, 27 June.
Public submissions to the draft budget, which includes a seven per cent rate increase and a $27.2 million capital works program, close this Friday, 23 June.
The budget, which was unveiled at a special council meeting on Tuesday, 6 June, was hailed as the widest ranging in the shire’s 11-year history.
Healesville and district was one of the biggest winners in the budget, attracting funding for a wide range of capital works and community infrastructure projects.
The long-term redevelopment of the Healesville Memorial Hall received a major boost with an additional $600,000 funding.
Ryrie Ward councillor Jeanette McRae said the $600,000 would be added to almost half a million funding carried forward from the current budget.
“The funding will allow the community to get more use out of its much-loved and totally underdeveloped Memorial Hall,” she said.
Cr McRae said the funding carried forward would be used to install heating and a lift, and make the upstairs area of the hall more accessible and useable.
She said she was optimistic that the renovations would be completed in the next financial year and would coincide with the possible relocation of the library from the hall to the neighbouring Swinburne TAFE building.
“If this happens, it will free up quite a bit of space in the hall, which could be used to create a youth base, possibly including a cafe and music studio and other youth enterprise projects,” she said.
Healesville’s indoor swimming pool will get $10,000 for occupational health and safety improvements, and a new $47,500 footpath along Don Road, between Queens Park and the Healesville cemetery, will be constructed.
Upgrades for three Healesville roads and two drainage systems have also been included in the budget.
Roads funding includes $472,000 for upgrades on Blackwood Road, Chum Creek, $115,000 on Farnham Road, Healesville, and $65,000 has been earmarked for traffic safety between two primary schools on High Street, Healesville.
Drainage improvements worth $65,000 have been earmarked for Albert Road, Healesville and $20,000 will be spent on fixing drainage on Manse Street, Healesville.
Funding wins for outdoor spaces in the town include $65,000 for the installation of public art works at Queens Park, and $5000 to replace fencing in the park.
Yarra Glen will receive $1.1 million for township development and $100,000 for drainage works along the Melba Highway.
The shire will also spend $35,000 on the Yarra Glen Recreation Reserve masterplan and $40,764 on the Yarra Flats Billabong Reserve.
A number of projects for the area have been carried forward from the current budget, including $70,000 earmarked for Coldstream township improvements, $62,300 for Yarra Glen Park improvements and $245,150 for upgrades at the Don Road Sporting Complex in Healesville.