AFTER an hour long debate during the council meeting held on Monday, October 25, Horsham Rural City Council passed the council plan, asset plan and financial plan.
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Council amended the officer recommendation to separate each plan, so that each plan was debated and voted on individually.
Councillor Di Bell was concerned about the borrowing debt being raised from $6 million to $15 million in the financial plan.
"I am concerned about borrowing strategy," she said.
Cr Bell wanted to know why there was such an increase.
Horsham council's director of corporate services Graeme Harrison said this was due to a previous loan.
"It's a year we make a large repayment," he said.
IN OTHER NEWS:
The increase of debt from $6.7 in 2021-22 to $15 million in 2026-27 was due to a measure is an assessment of whether council's level of repayments on interest-bearing loans and borrowings are appropriate to the size and nature of council's activities.
This measure is under-stated due to interest only loans that were entered in to, in 2015-16, through the MAV Funding Vehicle arrangements. For these loans principal repayments are being provided for internally by way of a reserve account and are not therefore included in this measure expect when they are repaid as occurs in 2025-26 when $4.3m is repaid for the interest only loans taken out in 2015-16.
Following this repayment in 2025-26 the measure more accurately reflects the situation as all loans are forecast to be taken out on a principal plus interest repayment basis.
This measure post 2025-26 climbs to 5.26 per cent and increases further to 7.39 per cent in 2029-30 in line with the new borrowings.
As of this stage this is a projection if council makes these decisions.
There is no commitment to the projections until a council resolution when the projects come into the budget of the appropriate year.
Councillor Claudia Haenel brought a motion to each plan so that an action plan be included for community consolation and review in council.
Her concerns were that previously an action plan had been interwoven into the council plan.
"It's now a separate document," she said.
"I wanted to know when that action plan will be worked."
Cr Haenel wanted the action plan to have open and transparent process for community consultation and feedback.
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