Help us shape our 2026-27 budget

Council currently delivers more than 100 services that help make Stonnington the great place that it is - from libraries, parks and waste services, to community programs, events and infrastructure.

But financial pressures are growing. Like many Councils across Victoria, there is a widening gap between the income we receive from rates and the rising costs of operations, including roads, footpaths, sports fields, playgrounds and pools.

Our community expects and deserves the continuation of high-quality services and facilities, but Council cannot sustain existing levels of operation or invest in future priorities without additional funding.

Council's work can be broken down into four main categories:

  • Services (libraries, rubbish collection)
  • Responsibilities (producing annual reports)
  • Infrastructure (roads, footpaths, pipes)
  • Aspirations (transforming our precincts, new open space)

It's not just the challenge of maintaining our core everyday operations. We have some big aspirations over the next decade and beyond - like revitalising Chapel Street, creating new open spaces, ensuring fair access to our facilities for women and girls, as well as responding to a changing climate. The way we invest today, will futureproof our city for tomorrow, but that doesn't come without trade-offs.

Funding Stonnington Tomorrow is a community-wide conversation about how we increase funding capacity by introducing new revenue sources or reducing cost. It’s about what matters most to the people who live, work and spend time here. What services do you value? What should we protect, and what could we live with less of?

What are our options?

Ultimately, to fund Stonnington Tomorrow, it comes down to priorities and trade offs. Here's what the options could mean:

  • Option 1 - Reduce operations

    If things stay the way they are and we don’t find more funding, we will need to prioritise only essential services such as roads, drainage and rubbish, while making significant cuts to other valued programs such as libraries, community initiatives, sports, events and festivals.

  • Option 2 - Maintain operations

    By increasing efficiencies and exploring options to increase revenue, we could maintain services at their current level. Day-to-day operations would continue, but there would be limited ability to invest in aspirational things like new community parks, facility upgrades and important futureproofing work.

  • Option 3 - Improve operations

    If we take a more future-focussed approach to making cost savings and growing revenue, we can improve operations and set our city up for the years to come. This would mean we could deliver big projects our community cares about - like transforming Chapel Street, creating new parks and upgrading recreation facilities to ensure girls and women have fair access.

The bigger picture

This isn't just thinking about the next 12 months. It's about how the decisions we make today will shape the next decade and beyond. Put yourself in the shoes of future you...

  • Will there be enough green space for our future kids and grandkids to play?
  • What will getting to work or school look like?
  • Can we age in place with the services and facilities we need?
  • How resilient are we in a changing climate?
  • Will our streets be places we feel proud of?

Funding Stonnington Tomorrow is the start of that conversation. And it starts today.

Have your say

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