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East Gippsland Shire Council adopted its 2026/27 Budget on 23 June, informed by more than 400 community submissions and a program of direct engagement with groups across the shire.
Mayor Cr Jodie Ashworth said Council engaged the community earlier in the Budget process, to give the community greater influence in shaping the Budget.”
“Councillors wanted to ensure we heard community priorities to directly inform our decision-making. This early input provided detail on what matters most and helped shape investment across services and infrastructure,” Cr Ashworth said.
“Thank you to everyone who contributed their views through our online feedback options, at community pop-up sessions, stakeholder meetings, or other direct engagement opportunities.”
A total of 340 people responded to the online survey, 46 contributed through a survey at community pop-ups, and 16 individual submissions were received. There were more than 1,100 visits to our online feedback page.
Stakeholder meetings were held across the shire, including with the East Gippsland Residents and Ratepayers’ Association, business and tourism associations, town stakeholder groups in Omeo, Orbost and Mallacoota, Youth Ambassadors, First Nations representatives, East Gippsland Marketing and the Agriculture Sector Advisory Committee.
In addition to wide-reaching promotion of budget feedback opportunities, Council also directly contacted people and groups on across the arts and culture, place-based, environment, aquatic and recreation, sporting club and committee of management, business, and East Gippsland Community Panel.
Cr Ashworth said community feedback highlighted that maintaining core services and local infrastructure is a priority.
“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, so it’s important to hear the priorities,” Cr Ashworth said.
“We heard that the community’s main priorities were managing cost-of-living pressures, focusing on core services, expectations around cleanliness, amenity and the day-to-day services that support liveability across our towns.
“Maintaining roads and other infrastructure and making financially responsible decisions were also consistently identified as key areas of importance.”
The community was asked to rank what services are most important to them with the top five being:
These five services aligned directly with what the community said also needs improving.
“This feedback has directly informed Budget decisions and helped focus investment where it will deliver the greatest impact. How we are responding to this feedback through the Budget is detailed on our website. All submitters who provided their contact details will also receive a response,” Cr Ashworth said.
The Budget aligns with Council’s Plan and Community Vision, directing available resources to priority areas identified through community discussions and strategic planning frameworks.
“We are committed to listening to our community and ensuring their input helps guide our decisions. The priorities we’ve heard – maintaining essential services, managing costs and investing in infrastructure – are reflected in this Budget,” Cr Ashworth said.
The adopted 2026/27 Budget and supporting fact sheets and an engagement summary will be available on Council’s website and at service centres and libraries.
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