Maybe only council budget fanatics noticed, but one figure in the SDRC 2025/26 budget seemed off.
The category of “governance”, at first glance, appears to cost more than double this year than last year. In the 2024/25 budget “governance” amounted to $4.96 million, no small change, and for this financial year the number has ballooned out to $12.25 million.
Why the exceptional increase in the cost of governance? And what is governance anyway?
Governance is a catch-all phrase that generally indicates the frameworks and practices that ensure responsible and accountable management of public resources, including the allocation of funds, setting budget, risk, financial management, transparency and accountability. Okay, but what does that really mean in practical terms? It depends on the council and its interpretation of what goes into that category.
For instance, last year, the “governance” category included administration and councillors, according to an SDRC spokesperson. By ‘councillors’ we can assume councillor costs including pay and similar for administration.
Council has significantly expanded its interpretation of “governance” for the upcoming financial year. The category now also includes Land Management ($0.2 million); Procurement & Stores ($0.56 million); Communication & Marketing ($1.1 million), Finance & Revenue Services ($2.24 million) and People and Culture ($2.69 million). In the 2024/25 budget, some of those categories stood alone and Land Management was grouped with Asset Management.
Council did not explain why it decided to regroup various costs under the “governance” umbrella but at least residents can rest assured that it isn’t costing $7 million more than last year.
