Council on the road to financial sustainability

Council has handed down its 2025/26 Budget and Operational Plan, charting a clear path for the growing city, prioritising responsible financial management that shows an improved financial position and returning to surplus earlier than previously forecast.

Acting Mayor Ann-Maree Greaney said the $928.2 million budget reflected Council’s commitment to delivering services, responsibly managing ratepayer funds, and strengthening the city’s financial future.

“This is a budget built on financial discipline and service delivery. Our community expects value for money and the core services they rely on without unnecessary debt or cost blowouts,” Cr Greaney said.

“We’ve taken a careful, considered approach, identifying savings through internal process improvements, contract reviews, service efficiency gains and targeted cost reductions. Importantly, we’ve done this with very few impacts to the current levels of service our community expects and deserves.”

Cr Greaney said Council was pulling every lever available to a local government to minimise rate increases, following significant changes in State Government Land Valuations which drove an average increase of 27 per cent or $46,000 across Townsville properties.

“In response, we have reduced our rate in the dollar (RID) figure for the first time in 10 years, by an average of 18 percent to help offset the impact of these valuations,” Cr Greaney said.

In Queensland, general rates are calculated by multiplying a property’s State Government-issued land valuation by the RID set by each council.

“Rates will rise by an average of 4 percent, but it’s important to note that 32 percent of category 1 residential ratepayers will see no increase or even a reduction, the impact will vary depending on individual land valuations.”

The combined average increase in general rates and utility charges is $240 annually, or just $4.62 per week. This includes an average increase of $168 per year or $3.23 per week for utility charges such as water, wastewater and waste management, making the total weekly impact for most households just under $5.

“We know households are doing it tough with rising grocery prices, higher power bills, and cost-of-living pressures affecting many. It’s important to be clear: most ratepayers won’t experience the ‘average’ increase. Some will pay slightly more, others less. But we’ve worked hard to ease the pressure including keeping the 5 per cent early payment discount and introducing a simpler, more equitable pensioner concession structure,” Cr Greaney said.

Despite Council also experiencing rising costs across materials, fuel, and energy, the focus remains on delivering core services while working smarter, ensuring every ratepayer dollar goes further.

Cr Greaney said the budget found the right balance between managing cost-of-living pressures and preparing for Townsville’s continued growth.

“This budget positions Council to grow responsibly. Alongside our RID drop we have kept our spending to a minimum, focused on the services people rely on and are planning wisely for Townsville’s future,” Cr Greaney said.

To support future resilience, Council will establish new dedicated Reserve Funds in 2025/26 to improve Council’s capacity to plan for growth, support housing and infrastructure in partnership with industry and enable ongoing innovation and strategic investment.

“The work put into the 2025/26 Budget and Operational Plan speaks volumes about the organisation and councillors’ commitment to delivering the essentials our community wants, investing in liveability and continuing our trajectory of growth all while decreasing our deficit and achieving a better financial position than previous years.”

For more information about the 2025/26 Budget and Operational Plan and how rates are calculated, visit Budget 2025/26.