Geelong council has adopted a new model to community consultation for its 2026-27 budget.
The new approach has seen the City of Greater Geelong open the first stage of consultation this month, offering an online survey, councillor listening posts, a submissions process and a community panel.
In previous years, the City only engaged the community once the draft budget had been complete.
On occasion this resulted in the community scrambling to have its voice heard when the draft budget included highly unpopular decisions – most notably in 2023 when the council announced cuts to library funding which could have seen multiple libraries in the region closed or with much reduced services.
Mayor Stretch Kontelj said the new approach would ensure the final budget was informed by community views.
“The model for earlier engagement has already been successfully rolled out by other councils, and now, we’re giving people the opportunity to view our discussion paper and start commenting even though it’s only February,” he said.
“The new community panel will also play a key role in March, giving City officers the time to consider all of the input and suggestions.”
Councillor Andrew Katos, chair of the City’s finance portfolio, said it was important for the budget to reflect the community.
“By capturing feedback from across the entire community, we’ll ensure a representative budget while also recognising the financial challenges ahead,” he said.
