Long Term Financial Plan 2025 - 2035

The Long-Term Financial Plan (Plan) details the amount of income and expenditure that Council expects to generate and spend over the course of the next ten years based on a set of assumptions. The projected income and expenditure facilitate the delivery of community services, maintaining and renewing existing assets, and delivery of new infrastructure.

Council benchmarks financial performance using key ratios for liquidity, indebtedness, asset renewal and the adjusted underlying result. These ratios are color-coded—green for strong performance, amber for areas of medium risk, and red representing higher risk.

Details of the approach to these ratios is outlined further in this report and the Plan responds to these ratios in the following ways:

• Operating result – The Plan improves the comprehensive result over the term by systematically reducing the deficit each year to manageable levels. Adjusted underlying result – The Plan systematically reduces the deficit in underlying result over the term of the Plan, nearing a break even result and maintaining a medium risk level.
• Adjusted underlying result – The Plan systematically reduces the deficit in underlying result over the term of the Plan, nearing a break even result and maintaining a medium risk level.
• Liquidity - The Plan enables Council to move from high risk to medium risk over the 10-year term. The liquidity ratio stabilises after 2026-27 with Council allocating increased expenditure towards asset renewal and new assets and uses surplus cash to reduce outstanding loans.
• Indebtedness - The Plan outlines the management of the current $7M borrowings and allows for a potential $10M new loan to assist in funding a potential major project in 2028-2029. The ratio remains at a low risk with all debts repaid by 2033.
• Asset renewal -The Plan allows for a greater investment in Capital projects including a potential new major project for $20M in 2028-2029. The Asset renewal gap is reduced through additional expenditure of $1M each year on asset renewal but remains at a medium risk level.

The Plan contains the influences that will affect the strategic financial direction of Council. It enables Councillors and staff to understand the financial relationship between individual strategies and how these affect the overall outcomes for Council.

The Glenelg Shire Council Long Term Financial Plan for 2025-2035 was endorsed by Council on Tuesday 28 October 2025.