FAQs

The Consumer Price Index (CPI) measures the average change in prices paid for a fixed basket of goods and services over time. It serves as a crucial tool for gauging inflation and tracking changes in the cost of living.

The annual Adelaide Consumer Price Index (CPI) is forecast to rise by 4.3%.

The CPI affects Council budgets as it includes costs that Council must pay, such as electricity and fuel. Additionally, many Council contracts are linked to the CPI. As a result, when the CPI rises, Council costs can increase as well.

Aside from the CPI, Council is also affected by construction costs rises. Similar to housing costs, expenses for constructing roads, footpaths, and renewing community and sporting buildings have increased. Moreover, Council must accommodate federally mandated Superannuation Guarantee contribution payments, which is increase half a percent each year.

Council annually implements expenditure management, efficiency savings, and continuous improvement measures to offset these high costs and ensure that the cost increase for delivering existing services does not exceed the CPI. Council is forecasting savings of $500,000, sparing ratepayers 0.76% of a rate increase.

For the upcoming year, the Council's anticipated costs and savings measures will result in a 4.22% rate increase before the implementation of new services.

The introduction of new services and assets with ongoing costs also requires funding, which contributes to an increase in rates.

Council recognises that rate increases can be challenging for some community members, particularly those on fixed incomes or facing financial hardship. If you anticipate difficulties meeting these payments, please contact our Rates Officers at 1300 133 466 to discuss options that may assist you.

Community Insights (high level indicators) are included in the Four Year Delivery Plan, and enable ongoing monitoring and review of Council’s progress and effectiveness towards achieving its goals and outcomes. Community perception research on the insights will be undertaken periodically to provide Council with insight into how the community perceive Council is progressing towards achieving its vision. Initial research was undertaken in late 2020 to provide baseline information. The 34 community insights are listed in the draft 2024/25 Annual Business Plan, Budget and Long-Term Financial Plan. The community insights are supported by other measures and data sources as necessary. Council’s Performance Reports are available at https://www.mitchamcouncil.sa.gov.au/council/corporate-documents/annual-reports(External link)(External link) and provide detailed measures.

Operating Projects 

Each year, Council undertakes projects that do not result in increased ongoing costs, such as the cost of new maintenance or a commitment to deliver services into the future.

We call these ‘Operating Projects’ and our list of projects each year often includes preparing new designs, updating policies or undertaking reviews. Sometimes we are required to do these projects to comply with legislation, other times we need to do them to help run our organisation effectively.

Council will progressively review the funding allocated to Operating Projects during the year to respond to emerging and changing demands, priorities and opportunities. 

Capital Projects

Capital projects involve creating new assets or replacing / upgrading existing assets. ‘Assets’ are physical things like footpaths, playgrounds and buildings. New assets incur ongoing costs, such as interest, maintenance and depreciation. Replacing our assets does not increase Council’s ongoing costs as maintenance and depreciation is already built into the budget.

Excluding new properties and development means not including new properties as a result of developments that didn’t exist at the time of setting the rates.  It is a common across local government although lots of Council’s don’t disclose that the stated rates increase is “excluding development” or “plus development” as some Council’s term it. We have done so to be as transparent as possible.

Within a twelve-month delivery window, the first half of the year is typically spent undertaking activities such as planning, design, consultation, procurement of construction works and getting on-site works underway.  Consequently, a significant portion of construction, and therefore spend, occurs in the 2nd half of the financial year.

As with any construction program, particularly of the scale and diversity of Council’s, there are a number of delivery risks associated with the implementation of each project on the capital works program, these delivery risks typically relate to consultation, contractor and resource availability and weather conditions. Should these risks materialise projects often require rescheduling to ensure effective outcomes are achieved.  

Council’s focus continues to be on delivering its asset replacement projects efficiently and effectively, ensuring value for money whilst maximising community outcomes.  Additional elements are often incorporated to create greater value for the community, these can include Water Sensitive Urban Design (WSUD) greening features, tree plantings, network connectivity assessments, local urban heat island impacts and long term climate change impacts.  It can often be advantageous to reschedule projects to ensure the best project outcomes and community benefits are achieved.

Asset renewals are identified primarily by asset condition in order ensure that agreed condition-based service levels are met, and this is the process in which assets that have reached a point at which they require removal and replacement. Once identified, individual assets are reviewed with respect to their surrounding streetscape and open space and are coordinated into combined projects to ensure minimal construction disruption to residents and to maximise project delivery efficiencies.

Asset maintenance refers to the ongoing management of defects associated with Council’s existing assets, to ensure they perform appropriately for their intended lifespan. This is managing the condition of the asset until it reaches the point of renewal.

Asset renewal and asset maintenance activities are funded and delivered quite differently. 

All infrastructure assets are routinely condition assessed, and it is these condition scores than inform the renewal programs.  Renewal funding is set in alignment with future asset renewal requirements over a 10 year period and as such can fluctuate on an annual basis depending on the extent of renewals.  Asset maintenance is set with respect to the extent of the entire asset network, inclusive of new infrastructure, and is undertaken in accordance with operational service levels.

The investment in new assets is a process by which resident requests can be funded through approval of the Elected Member body, or as a result of external funding received.

Asset condition and financial sustainability are key metrics for asset renewal forecasting and these ratios are mandated financial based ratios; however, they are not the only considerations.  There are a number of additional elements that are incorporated into renewal decisions to create greater value for the community.  These include Water Sensitive Urban Design (WSUD) features, tree plantings, network connectivity assessments, local urban heat island impacts and long term climate change impacts.  The City of Mitcham has invested strongly in the establishment of baseline data through which future environmental sustainability metrics will be able to be objectively measured alongside financial indicators.  Such baseline data includes Council tree canopy cover, surface temperature mapping and future climate risk indicator mapping.

As new assets are constructed the future maintenance requirements are identified and an increase in the maintenance budgets is allocated, to provide for the additional maintenance expenditure required.  This is in addition to the existing maintenance budgets.

The Four Year Delivery Plan is Council’s plan for action over the next four years. It responds to Council’s aspirational strategic management plan, Mitcham 2030, by identifying where Council will invest additional effort to achieve its long term vision and goals.

The Four Year Delivery Plan provides:

•Priority Themes – key areas that Council will focus additional effort and/or investment for a four year period, typically through new services and projects. Council will continue to deliver against all 12 themes of Mitcham 2030 through its existing services.

•Priority Investments – New services and projects for the next four years. These investments are typically aligned to the Priority Themes to enable Council to make a significant positive contribution. They are additional to existing services, which are already delivered across all 12 themes.

•Community Insights – High level indicators to track Council’s progress towards achieving its vision. The indicators will form a community survey, to be undertaken periodically. These indicators will be supported by other data sources as necessary.

Council endorsed new Priority Themes at its meeting on 12 December 2023, which are:

•Theme 2.1 Climate Change Mitigation and Resilience

•Theme 2.3 Natural Environment

•Theme 3.1 Placemaking

•Theme 4.1 Good Governance

New services and projects for the next four years. These investments are typically aligned to the Priority Themes to enable Council to make a significant positive contribution. They are additional to existing services, which are already delivered across all 12 themes.

Priority Investments will be included in an updated Four Year Delivery Plan for 2024/25 - 2027/28. They are reconsidered by Council annually as part of the annual budget process.