From the Mayor’s Desk
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Councillor Ken Halstead
This week marks the end of the financial year.
Only last week the NSW Government handed down its annual budget.
Some of the big news from the budget included a record surplus of $4.5 billion in 2016-17 and a forecast surplus of $2.7 billion this coming year.
This means the state government is able to spend big on some large-scale infrastructure projects and initiatives throughout NSW.
This will include building new schools, refurbishing hospitals and implementing an Active Kids Rebate to encourage more children to play sport.
While our shire may not have been the beneficiary of any national headline announcements, we didn’t come away empty handed either.
For my money, the biggest news came in the form of roads and infrastructure commitments.
Most notably was a $416,000 grant secured under the Fixing Country Roads program.
This will go towards a local bridge assessment program.
Under this grant 44 local bridges will be inspected and assessed for potential risk, durability, wear and necessary maintenance.
The council also obtained $307,000 for repairs to regional roads.
A further $250,000 was secured to improve standards of roadworks and road safety.
The promise of these funds comes on the back of big ticket announcements from previous budgets.
This includes $14.9 million for the construction of the Southern Highlands Police Station in Moss Vale and a $50 million commitment towards the upgrade of the Bowral Public Hospital.
It’s true our neighbours to the north and south in Wollondilly and Goulburn secured significantly more funds this time round.
While more state and federal assistance for the Southern Highlands would be most welcome, I prefer to dwell on the positives.
I believe this year’s allocation of monies towards roads and bridges is testimony to the state government’s confidence in our shire here in the Southern Highlands to successfully deliver on capital improvements to our road and transport network.