General News
10 October, 2025
Council renew focus
Central Goldfields Shire Council have released their financial statements for FY2024/25.
Central Goldfields Shire Council have released their financial statements for the 2024/25 financial year with results they said reflect sector-wide challenges.
Council’s end of year financial statement, presented at last month’s council meeting, has an “operating surplus and underlying deficit” according to the report.
It’s unclear what the underlying deficit is but it may be referring to a grant intended for the following financial year.
According to the report, among the reasons the operating position had “improved” was due to partially receiving a $2.8 million Federal Assistance Grant intended for FY2025/26.
It means that despite an operating surplus of $0.4 million, without one grant intended for the following financial year, they could have been in the red.
However, this grant has to be counted in the financial year it was received, skewing the numbers.
Similarly, despite a closing cash balance of $4.8 million on June 30, council’s true cash position is a more complicated story.
Council’s total restricted cash is almost $7 million, however, that money is already allocated to projects.
Their unrestricted cash instead is $2.2 million in the negative.
According to the report, this means council will need to use cash received this financial year to finalise FY2024/25 projects.
However, councillor Anna De Villiers said that council’s cash position changes every day.
“[The financial statement] is pinpointing a moment in time because the cash position changes constantly as money flows in and money flows out,” she said.
The report explained the financial statement reflects a year of challenges, major business decisions, and finalisation of many multi-year projects.
It also said the report was impacted by decisions made by other levels of government.
“It is important to recognise that many influencing factors are sector wide, not just reflecting Central Goldfields Shire,” the report read.
However, for councillor Gerard Murphy, it all comes down to being fiscally and financially responsible.
“This council, like other small councils, just cannot go and just do things off the cuff,” he said.
“Like we don’t have the money for the footpaths this year so we don’t do the footpaths.”
Recognising the realities of the “ever-increasing financial pressures” on councils, the shire adopted its first Financial Sustainability Strategy in June 2024.
Although this didn’t impact the current financial statement, according to the report the strategy will provide guidance going forward.
“It provides guidance on future decision making for council and ensures council is doing everything in its power to take control of its own financial wellbeing,” the report read.
It’s a sentiment councillor Geoff Bartlett concurred.
“We’ve highlighted our short-comings and placed a renewed focus on fiscal responsibility that’s seen us turn a corner,” he said.
However, he said sector-wide challenges such as cost shifting, among others, would be an ongoing concern.
The benefit of the fiscally and financially responsible approach council say they’re taking, Cr Murphy said, is that they could get some cash on hand.
“We’re running in a mode that will eventually give us ... a couple of million dollars in cash over a period of time,” he said.