Council endorses 2025/26 Annual Budget

Published on 18 June 2025

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The 2025/26 Annual Budget was endorsed at last night’s Council Meeting, committing $145 million to support essential services and community initiatives over the next financial year.

This Budget reflects the valuable community input gathered through two stages of community engagement from residents across the City of Maribyrnong, beginning last year.

Reflecting feedback on key priorities, such as traffic management, road maintenance and repairs, parks and gardens, cycling and pedestrian infrastructure, community centre and libraries, and sustainability, this includes

  • $21.6 million for five major projects: moving the Maribyrnong Aquatic Centre off gas and continuing the Slash Park project; demolition of RecWest Footscray and upgrade of Shorten Reserve; a new pavilion at Hansen Reserve; and detailed design to progress Creative West.
  • Almost $9 million for parks and gardens.
  • Almost $6 million for streetscape improvements, including Barkly Village and Clarke Street Park in West Footscray, Bunbury Street in Footscray and in shopping and activity centres.
  • Just over $4 million for continuation of masterplanning for Pipemakers Park, Yarraville Gardens and Footscray Park.
  • $2.3 million for Footscray Library and Braybrook Hub refurbishment.
  • $1.7 million for improved pedestrian walkways in the Footscray CBD and other improvements, including the lifts at the Little Saigon Carpark.

Traffic management and road maintenance were listed as residents’ top priorities in the 2024 Annual Community Survey, and the Budget proposes to invest around $15.5 million. Of that, just under $10 million will go to road rehabilitation projects, including completing distributor road upgrades along Summerhill Road in West Footscray and Mitchell Street in Maribyrnong, with re-sheeting of an additional eight collector and access roads and three laneways across the municipality.

In response to the top five ranked community priorities, Council has also allocated $4.3 million for community centres and libraries, and almost $1 million for cycling and pedestrian infrastructure.

Council has allocated almost $2 million for sustainability initiatives to reduce emissions and improve our environment. This funding will be used to start moving all existing Council buildings off gas to 100 per cent renewable electricity. $1 million of this funding – combined with a $2.5 million Federal Government grant will be used for Maribyrnong Aquatic Centre. Other sustainability initiatives to benefit from this funding include solar panels, community battery, window treatments and electric charging for Council’s operational fleet.

We are also spending $1 million for new tree plantings across the City, as we work towards increasing our canopy cover to over 20 per cent by 2040.

The Budget is premised on a 3 per cent increase in line with the allowable rates cap set by State Government. This rates cap is for total rates revenue only, and not individual properties.

Mayor Cr Pradeep Tiwari thanked to community for taking to time to share their spending priorities, to guide Council’s spending for the coming financial year.

“As much as practicable, we have considered what is most important to you in our decisions. Like other Councils in Victoria, we are also facing significant financial challenges with the costs of delivering services and infrastructure increasing, along with our population,” he said.

“This budget is a practical blend of community priorities and necessary spending. We have – as much as possible – created a budget you can be proud of, given the consideration of cost of living challenges for ratepayers, and the challenging economic climate in which we also operate,” he said.

For more information about the development of the Annual Budget 2025/26 and the two rounds of community engagement, visit yourcityyourvoice.com.au/budget25-26

For more information and to download a copy of the 2025/26 Annual Budget, visit maribyrnong.vic.gov.au/budget

 

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