24/06/2026
Please reach out if you would like to arrange a face to face catch up in Monto to discuss the proposed 2026/2027 budget.
I’ll be in the Monto office Thursday (tomorrow) and Friday.
📩 to schedule a time please email me at: [email protected]
PUBLIC NOTICE: Proposed 2026-2027 Budget
The proposed 2026-2027 budget for the North Burnett Regional Council has today been published on Council’s website.
The proposed 2026-2027 Budget report can be accessed in the Agenda Papers for the Budget Adoption Meeting at https://northburnett.qld.gov.au/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/30062026-Budget-Meeting-Agenda.pdf.
Please note this is the proposed budget and has not yet been adopted (ie. formally approved) by Council.
Council will consider the proposed budget at its Budget Adoption Meeting on 30 June 2026 at the Gayndah Community Hall, 34 Capper Street, Gayndah.
The proposed 2026-2027 Budget has been developed in line with the 2026-2027 Budget Guidelines adopted by Council on 29 April 2026.
In developing the proposed Budget, Councillors have been clear that they recognise that for those residents who are struggling with rising cost of living pressures, increasing interest rates and higher fuel prices, they are not able to also manage an increase to rates and charges of 17% or more – which was the original forecast.
Councillors have also been adamant of the need to mitigate the impacts of very wide variations in property values arising from the Queensland Valuer-General’s valuation of land in the North Burnett in March this year – which saw an average increase in land value of 84.92% - with the largest decrease in valuation being in the order of $800,000 and the largest increase being $9.3 million.
In response to these matters, the proposed 2026-2027 Budget includes the following measures:
• Freezing of the Minimum General Rate (MGR) at last year’s rate (2025-2026) for most rating categories – with just over 20% of ratepayers paying the MGR;
• Reducing the cent in the dollar for a number of rating categories;
• Introduction of a cap of 12.5% on the increase in the general rate from 2025-2026 for the majority of rating categories – including all Residential Categories (ie. vacant land, Principal Place of Residence, Non Principal Place of Residence, Large Residential and Multi-Residential); most rural use categories; commercial properties; and industrial properties. Collectively, these categories represent 98.5% of properties in the region. What this means is that the most that would be payable in terms of the general rate for any property in these categories would be no more than 12.5% of what was levied as the general rate on that property in 2025-2026;
• Utility charges for water access, water consumption and wastewater (sewerage) are proposed to each increase by 10% - compared with an increase of 19% in 2025-2026. This is reduced from the forecast increase of 17%. The proposed 10% increase ensures the operational cost to deliver these utilities is covered from the charges levied. Only those ratepayers that are serviced by Council’s town water supply and sewerage schemes pay each of these charges;
• The utility charge for the kerbside waste collection service is not proposed to increase, remaining at the same rate as for 2025-2026. Only those ratepayers who are within the identified waste collection service area pay this charge;
• The Natural Resource Management Levy is proposed to increase by $12.00 per year (from $80 in 2025-2026) for each ratepayer;
• The Local Disaster Management Levy is proposed to increase by $5.00 per year (from $25.00 in 2025-2026) for each ratepayer; and
• The Landfill Management and Waste Minimisation Levy is proposed to increase by $61.00 per year (from $305.00 in 2025-2026), which is primarily due to Council experiencing increases to the cost of landfill remediation by at least 100% to comply with environmental regulatory requirements.
Should the proposed 2026-2027 Budget be adopted by Council, this will mean that for the Principal Place of Residence Category - which is the largest category of ratepayers:
• one ratepayer will see a total increase (ie. general rate, levies and utility charges) of $9.81 per week; and
• all other ratepayers in the Principal Place of Residence category will see a total increase which is less than that amount (per week).
This forecast total increase assumes average household water consumption per property of 250KL per year.
The proposed 2026-2027 Budget includes a $20.03 million Capital Works Program, as well as a $37.5 million flood recovery program across the region, stemming from the March 2026 severe weather event and previous flood events in 2024.
The proposed 2026-2027 Budget forecasts that in taking steps to limit the increases to rates and charges for ratepayers, Council’s operating deficit in 2026-2027 will increase to a forecast -$9.31 million.
The updated long term financial model developed as part of the proposed 2026-2027 Budget forecasts that Council will record an operating deficit for each year through to and including 2030-2031, with the deficit forecast to reduce over that time.
However, in 2031-2032, Council is forecast to return to an operating surplus, which is one year earlier than forecast last year.
ENDS
Cr Les Hotz - North Burnett Regional Council Melinda Jones - North Burnett - Councillor Trina Vaughan, Councillor Division 2, North Burnett Regional Council Councillor Sue Payne - North Burnett Regional Council Renee McGilvery Councillor Division 4 Councillor Moira Thompson, Division 6, NBRC
