Council’s strong finances backed by independent review
Date published: 16 February 2018
Townsville City Council’s long-term financial sustainability has been given a big tick by the Queensland Treasury Corporation.
The QTC credit review rated Council’s capacity to meet its financial commitments in the short, medium and long-term and found no foreseeable concerns in the future.
Governance and Finance Committee chair Cr Verena Coombe said Council was on strong financial foundations to delivery key community services and invest in infrastructure to build Townsville for the future.
“A lot of hard work has been done over the past two years to reform the organisation and remove red tape,” Cr Coombe said.
“The changes that have been made to Council will continue to pay dividends to ratepayers by ensuring more resources can be redirected to front line services and infrastructure.”
Council’s strong financial position provided for a rate-reduction in the 2017-18 Budget and allows for any future rate rises to be kept as low as possible.
The transformation of Council has resulted in expected savings of more than $27 million this financial year, allowing more resources to be invested in core services, infrastructure and programs such as the Basics Blitz.
The QTC also noted Council’s efforts to improve financial sustainability through the restructure and reducing red tape across the organisation.
