Our friendly staff look forward to assisting with your enquiry.
We'd like to hear your feedback and ideas about the Council projects and services that matter most to you to help us shape the 2026/27 Council Budget and plan for future capital works and initiatives.
Community feedback is central to our budget process and helps us create a sustainable long-term financial plan that addresses the community needs and expectations outlined in our Community Vision and Council Plan 2025-29.
You can provide your feedback in the following ways:
Bairnsdale Library
22 Service Street, Bairnsdale
Wednesday 11 February 2026
2.00-4.00pm
Lakes Entrance Library
12 Mechanics Street, Lakes Entrance
Monday 16 February 2026
2.00-4.00pm
Paynesville Library
55 Esplanade, Paynesville
Thursday 19 February 2026
2.00-4.00pm
What you can expect at a drop-in session:
Our commitment to the community is to keep you informed, listen to and acknowledge feedback and ideas, use these in the development of the Council Budget and provide feedback on how your input was used.
Council must balance community priorities with legislative obligations, financial sustainability, asset renewal needs and rising service costs. This means difficult choices are sometimes required, and not all requests can be funded in a single budget year.
You can provide feedback about your priorities for Council projects, initiatives and services all year for consideration.
Feedback received before 12pm, 9 March 2026 will be considered for the 2026-27 Council Budget, which goes to Council for endorsement in June 2026.
We deliver a wide range of services across a large rural shire, including libraries, emergency management, roads, waste and recycling, sport and recreation, health, and local laws.
We adopted our suite of strategic documents, including the annual Budget and Council Plan.
The 2025/26 Budget:
The 2025/26 Budget was adopted by Council on 23 June 2025.
Community consultation was central to the budget process, with engagement held in February and May. The 2025/26 Budget aligns with Council’s broader suite of strategic plans and focuses on long-term financial sustainability.
Fact sheets
Previous budgets
Our Services guide
A snapshot of the services and programs delivered by Council.
Council is required to develop, adopt and keep in force a Financial Plan in accordance with its deliberative engagement practices.
The Financial Plan covers at least the next 10 financial years.
The current 10-Year Financial Plan was adopted by Council at the 23 June 2025 Council Meeting.
Council prepares and adopts a Revenue and Rating Plan by the next 30 June after a general election for a period of at least the next four financial years.
The Four-Year Revenue and Rating Plan includes information regarding rating legislation and principles together with information on Council’s current rating differentials, service charges and other administrative rating matters.
The Plan supports the 10-Year Financial Plan and the Annual Budget.
The current Plan was adopted at the 23 June 2025 Council Meeting.