The budget will now open for a period of public comment before it is presented again to council for final approval.

Ararat Mayor Paul Hooper said the draft budget was a responsible one that maintained council’s commitment to its road network and buildings.

“There is about $6 million going back into the rural road network,” he said.

“It sill maintains our commitment to infrastructure.”

Cr Hooper said the funding for roads had come from savings made at council.

“The thing that enables us to do that is we have taken $1 million in costs out of the organisation over the last three years,” he said.

“That is a great credit to council chief executive Andrew Evans and council staff.”

Cr Colin McKenzie said the budget was the result of hard work by council staff to meet state government requirements.

“It was tempered by a state government directive to cap our rates at 2.5 per cent,” he said.

“We haven’t lost any services and made the required savings within our own organisation.”

Although the budget keeps council services, there are still future challenges facing rural municipalities such as Ararat.

Cr Hooper said the backlog of infrastructure work would continue to grow and provide financial issues that would have to be dealt with.

“If you look at the strategy resource plan, the further you go into deficit on funding infrastructure, the backlog gets higher,” he said.

“It is a problem we have been aware of for many years and a problem all rural municipalities face”. Cr Hooper highlighted council’s road network as one example where funding was being tightened by state and federal government decisions.

“There is 4200 square kilometres in the municipality and 2000 kilometres of road across 9000 rateable properties,” he said.

“It is not unique to Ararat, it is a complex problem and I wouldn’t like to suggest there is any easy solution to it, because there is not.”