FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS:

The City of Hobart's budget outlines the services and initiatives it undertakes in a financial year (July 1 – June 30). The budget includes detailed information about the rates and charges to be levied, the capital works program, expected revenue, and where financial resources come from to operate programs and services.

The City of Hobart adopts a 12-month budget cycle in line with the financial year from 1 July to 30 June. The Local Government Act 1993 directs the Council to adopt an operating and capital budget each year by 31 August.

The aim is to produce a balanced budget each year - where revenue generated is sufficient to cover expenditure.

As the City prepares for its 2018–19 budget, it’s important we ask what services you value the most.

Why not play the budget challenge? It is a budget simulator tool which allows you a say in how your rates are spent and how the operational budget is balanced.

The City of Hobart's revenue is around $134 million.  While most of the revenue for the budget comes from rates and charges, money also comes from fees and charges, operating grants, TasWater distributions, rents, and interest on investments.

Rates and charges = 62.9%

Grants = 2.4%

TasWater Distributions = 1.6%

Rents = 2.5%

Interest = 0.7%

Fees and charges = 29.9%

The City spends about $110 million in operating expenditure each year.  About $97.8 million is spent on the many services and programs the City delivers to the community. A portion of the total operating budget of $110 million also includes other costs for things like depreciation and the Tasmanian Government's Fire Service Levy. The budget to deliver services and programs is allocated as follows: 

• Parks, Reserves and Recreation = 21.9% 
• Community Development = 5.7% 
• City Planning = 4.7%
• Economic Development, Tourism, Arts and Events = 8.5% 
• Corporate Operations = 15.1% 
• Strategic Planning and Finance = 3.6% 
• Environmental Health and Animal Management = 3.3% 
• Roads, Footpaths, Stormwater and other infrastructure = 17.1% 
• Waste and Recycling = 6.4% 
• City Cleansing = 2.9% 
• Parking = 10.8%

Capital expenditure* is an expense incurred for a future benefit. For example, capital expenditure may be the purchase of a building or equipment, or the upgrade of existing facilities or major works to roads, so their value as an asset increases.

Operating expenditures are those required for the day-to-day functioning of the City and to fund services and programs such as maintaining our parks and playgrounds, maintaining roads and footpaths; rubbish and recycling collection; animal management and administering building and plumbing permits.

As with household budgets, the City's budget can be affected by increases in electricity costs, postal rates, monetary policy and interest rates.

Your feedback on which services you value most and the results from the budget challenge will be given to the Council when it considers the 2018–19 budget. Your feedback will also be taken into account in future long-term decisions such as the Capital City Strategic Plan 2015–25 and Long-Term Financial Management Plan 2016–36.

The final 2018–19 budget will go to the Council for its consideration on 18 June 2018.