Mitchell Shire (VIC) Council budget and finances

Budget & finances

Every Victorian council reports the same set of financial measures to the state each year, under the Local Government Performance Reporting Framework (LGPRF). The state doesn't set pass marks for these measures. So we show Mitchell's figure for 2024–25 next to the median of all Victorian councils. The median is the middle value: half of councils are above it and half below. The median is a point of reference, not a target.

New to these terms? Read them in plain English

Operating result (surplus / deficit): Income minus expenses for the year's normal operations.
Average residential rate: The typical yearly general-rates bill for a home in the area.

See the full explainer, with formulas →

The numbers

Average rate per property (2024–25): $1,947General rates plus the municipal charge, divided by all property assessments (homes, farms and businesses). The Victorian median is $1,937.
Adjusted underlying result (2024–25): 0.65% deficitThe operating result without capital grants and contributions, as a share of that revenue. The Victorian median is a 0.56% surplus. For 2026–27 the adopted budget plans an adjusted underlying surplus of $15,000, which the council describes as a balanced operating position.
Borrowings: Loans equal to 26.3% of rates (2024–25)The Victorian median is 13.2%. The adopted 2026–27 budget plans $10.26 million of new borrowings and $2.81 million of repayments, taking loans from a forecast $17.60 million on 30 June 2026 to $25.05 million on 30 June 2027. Its projections show further borrowing in each of the following three years.
2026–27 budget: $227 million; $61.8 million capital worksAdopted on 18 May 2026. Total budgeted income is $227.0 million, of which $76.6 million is non-monetary contributions (mainly assets handed over by developers); expenses are $119.7 million. The Mayor's message highlights $16.95 million for roads and bridges, $11.63 million for buildings, $2.21 million for recreation, leisure and community facilities and $1.26 million for footpaths and cycleways, and the CEO's summary an extra $500,000 for road renewal.

Measure (2024–25)	Mitchell	Victorian median
	−0.65%	0.56%
Current assets ÷ current liabilities (short-term liquidity)	2.28×	2.17×
Unrestricted cash ÷ current liabilities (free cash)	−1.56×	0.26×
Loans and borrowings ÷ rates	26.3%	13.2%
Loan repayments ÷ rates	5.6%	1.4%
Non-current liabilities ÷ own-source revenue	38.4%	16.7%
Asset renewal and upgrade ÷ depreciation	73.1%	94.9%
Rates ÷ adjusted underlying revenue (reliance on rates)	59.3%	57.8%
Rates ÷ property values	0.34%	0.28%
Expenses per property assessment	$4,100	$4,100
Average rate per property assessment	$1,947	$1,937

Mitchell Shire Council, LGPRF financial measures, 2024–25, next to the median of the 79 Victorian councils reporting each measure. Source: Local Government Victoria, LGPRF 2020–2025 Full Council Data Set (Nov 2025 release), CC BY 4.0. The median is CouncilBeacon's own calculation.

The LGPRF has no official benchmarks, and Local Government Victoria says its data shouldn't be used for simplistic league tables. So we don't mark any figure as a pass or a fail, and we don't rank councils. The Victorian median is CouncilBeacon's own calculation, taken across the Victorian councils that report each measure in the 2024–25 data set. A figure above or below the median isn't good or bad in itself. Councils differ in size, growth, assets and services, and the council's annual report explains its own results. The unrestricted cash figure below zero is the value in the state's data set; the budget treats most of the council's cash as held in statutory reserves. The 2025–26 figures are due in about November 2026.

Sources — check it yourself

Figures are current as at the dates shown and may change — always confirm with the linked source. See the notice at the bottom of the page for full details and how to report a correction.