Open and accountable council delivers budget on Transparency and Integrity Hub
25 June 2021
Ipswich residents will have access to more information than ever before on the annual Budget when it is published on council’s nation-leading Transparency and Integrity Hub following its formal adoption.
Mayor Teresa Harding said the budget would be available the day after it was adopted by council.
“We promised to be an open and accountable local government - full transparency to its people - and this is part of our delivery on that commitment,” Mayor Harding said.
“The Transparency and Integrity Hub, an Australian first for a local government authority, is the gold standard in transparency, and will have the full budget available for the community to examine how we are spending each and every ratepayer dollar.
Mayor Harding said the hub would include a breakdown of council’s $532 million budget for 2021-22 and feature important data from the $430 million three-year capital plan.
“As councillors, working closely with council’s finance experts, we have poured over every item, line by line, and we’ve made strong and strategic decisions about how we spend ratepayer money,” she said.
“We acknowledge, and welcome, scrutiny from the community, who deserve to know how the city is being run.
“They will have the opportunity to examine where we have allocated every dollar for the next year specifically and for three years ahead as part of investment in major projects across the region.”
Mayor Harding said the hub was an important step in council’s open government journey and positions Ipswich as a leader in financial transparency in local government.
“We understand we need to rebuild trust with the community on Council’s integrity and transparency, and the Integrity Hub is a step along that journey,” she said.
“By giving residents full access to our budget, we are providing that openness and accountability for the decisions we make, and that the community demand and deserve.
“I’d encourage every Ipswich resident and ratepayer to get on the site and have a look at how this year’s Budget will work.”
Data available at the hub’s launch included financial records for council as well as council-controlled entities, councillor expenses and procurement data for contracts over $200,000 (excluding GST), and procurement data for all contracts over $10,000, following a revised Procurement Policy in 2020.
The Transparency and Integrity Hub was launched on 1 July 2020, giving ratepayers unprecedented access to the city’s finances and was unanimously supported.
For further information: Transparency and Integrity Hub