City of Newcastle 2022/23 council works budget spend revised down $14 million

The council adopted a revised budget on Tuesday night after a review of the spending program.

The city had approved a record $132 million capital works program for 2022/23. However this has been revised down to $118 million.

The report to council said scheduling changes were made to projects to ensure council "was best placed to respond to community priorities".

The reduced spend was attributed to large "city-shaping" projects, including the Newcastle Art Gallery redevelopment, remediation of the former Astra Street landfill site in Shortland, the development of the Summerhill food and garden organics facility and planning of a plastic, glass and paper recovery facility.

The council had planned to spend $26.85 million on those projects by the end of January, but $6.86 million was recorded to date.

Road rehabilitation was 30 per cent behind what was budgeted, while road resurfacing was down 18 per cent.

The total works spend to January 31 of $40,073,000 was 40 per cent less than the planned expenditure of $66,490,000.

Deputy lord mayor Declan Clausen said the city-shaping works would be pushed into the next financial year, and some smaller projects brought forward in their place.

"Those are projects we have very clearly committed to delivering, but unfortunately due to a range of factors outside of council's control there has been a delay in the conclusion and invoicing of those works," he said.

"There isn't a cut or a reduction in our capital works program."

Greens councillor John Mackenzie said some of the mitigating factors were supply chain issues, particularly in construction, and La Nina resulting in lost work days to rain.

He said the organics facility was still waiting on development approval and there had been "grouting complications" in the art gallery redevelopment.

"I have no doubt that those projects will be delivered," Cr Mackenzie said.

"I've been here long enough to know that a project which is delayed one year is inevitably delivered in the next year or the following year.

"If I was under any concern that any of those projects, that are city shaping and I've long been awaiting their arrival, were in any way imperilled under the current circumstances I would be much more concerned.

"But the fact they have been delayed and other projects have come in in their stead is no cause for concern."

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