Council will reduce spending by 10 per cent amid the global inflation crisis’ ongoing impacts on projects and services.
Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner said he had ordered the Council-wide savings drive to prevent avoidable costs being passed on to Brisbane’s 1.2 million residents.
“Households across Brisbane are tightening their belts because of rising costs and governments like ours are facing the same challenges,” Cr Schrinner said.
“Just like many households, we’re making the responsible decision to reduce Council spending by 10 per cent to avoid driving up costs for residents.
“We’re being upfront about this tough decision but make no apology for prioritising keeping costs down for households.
“Other governments might be happy to take the easy route to just keep spending and force up costs but our Council team is not prepared to do that during a cost-of-living crisis.
“This is the kind of responsible decision that Brisbane residents expect from our Council team and I believe people will agree that reducing spending to keep costs down is the right thing to do at the moment.”
The decision comes after Council successfully used its balanced budget to weather the significant financial impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and the devastating February 2022 flood without forcing up costs on residents.
Council has also recently responded to the housing crisis with a suite of incentives to get homes built sooner.
The Council-wide 10 per cent saving drive will include major projects, including Brisbane Metro and the Green Bridge building program as well as advertising, consultants, travel and councillor ward budgets.
The shading of Victoria Bridge, which was being delivered as part of Brisbane Metro, and the next stage of the Toowong to West End Green Bridge are two projects which have already been identified and will be paused.
There will be no staff redundancies or impacts on waste collection services.
The decision comes as key Council costs continue to remain well above traditional levels, driving up the price of projects and services.
For example, over the last three years, fuel has increased by 62.1 per cent, bitumen by 40.7 per cent, building by 28.1 per cent, gas by 33.1 per cent, road and bridge construction by 18.1 per cent and heavy and civil engineering construction by 17.4 per cent.
Yet despite record investment in infrastructure, Brisbane maintains the lowest residential rates in south east Queensland after Council’s 2023-24 budget kept the average general rates increase for owner-occupied houses to just 3.45 per cent, half the rate of inflation.
By comparison, the Gold Coast City Council’s average general rates increase was 6.5 per cent.
Brisbane Civic Cabinet chair for finance Fiona Cunningham said savings would be included in Council’s regular quarterly budget reviews.
“The global inflation crisis continues to have significant impacts on the cost of the projects we deliver,” Cr Cunningham said.
“Any decision to just keep spending in these circumstances would be irresponsible and result in significant future rate rises for Brisbane households and our team is not prepared to do that.
“While some proposed projects may be paused, the majority will be delivered on time however Council officers will be working hard over coming months to descope and remove unnecessary costs.
“For example, projects such as the Brisbane Metro include a public art requirement and some of this will now be removed to reduce costs.”