Budget & finances
Every Victorian council reports the same set of financial measures each year under the Local Government Performance Reporting Framework (LGPRF), published by Local Government Victoria. Victoria sets no pass/fail benchmarks for these measures, so we show Towong's 2024–25 result next to the median of all Victorian councils that reported it. A median is simply the middle value — it is a reference point, not a target. Towong is in the LGPRF's 'Small Shire' comparison group, with about 4,590 rateable properties spread across 6,675 km² (2026–27 Budget), which is worth keeping in mind when reading the per-property figures.
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.
The numbers
- Borrowings
- Loans and borrowings 0.02% of rates (2024–25)The adopted 2026–27 Budget says 'There are no borrowings included in the Budget 2026-2027' and that the council generally borrows only where a recurrent revenue source can repay the debt or for a multigenerational strategic project.
- Average rate per property assessment (2024–25)
- $1,875 (Victorian median $1,937)This covers all rateable property assessments, not residential only.
- Expenses per property assessment (2024–25)
- $6,988 (Victorian median $4,100)
- 2026–27 Budget
- Capital works $23.08 million; adjusted underlying deficit $2.61 millionAdopted on 24 June 2026. The budget forecasts an operating surplus of $4.4 million including capital grants, and an adjusted underlying deficit of $2.61 million once capital grants are excluded. The capital program includes about $10 million to replace bridges, culverts and roads in the Burrowye and Guys Forest areas destroyed by flash flooding in February 2026, to be covered by Australian Government Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangements. Cash and investments are expected to fall from $20 million at the end of 2025–26 to $6.6 million as grant-funded works are spent.
| Measure (2024–25) | Towong | Victorian median |
|---|---|---|
| Adjusted underlying surplus (or deficit), as a share of adjusted underlying revenue | −3.4% | 0.56% |
| Current assets compared with current liabilities | 3.88× | 2.17× |
| Unrestricted cash compared with current liabilities | 0.94× | 0.26× |
| Loans and borrowings compared with rates | 0.02% | 13.2% |
| Loan repayments compared with rates | 0.17% | 1.4% |
| Non-current liabilities compared with own-source revenue | 4.7% | 16.7% |
| Asset renewal and upgrade spending compared with depreciation | 154.3% | 94.9% |
| Rates compared with adjusted underlying revenue | 34.8% | 57.8% |
| Rates compared with property values | 0.30% | 0.28% |
| Expenses per property assessment | $6,988 | $4,100 |
| Average rate per property assessment | $1,875 | $1,937 |
Towong Shire Council, LGPRF financial measures, 2024–25, with the Victorian median across the 79 councils that reported each measure. The median is CouncilBeacon's own calculation from the LGPRF data set; LGPRF itself publishes no benchmarks. Source: Local Government Victoria, LGPRF 2020–2025 Full Council Data Set (Nov 2025 release), CC BY 4.0.
LGPRF publishes no benchmarks for these measures, and Local Government Victoria says the data should not be used for simplistic league tables — so we don't say whether a figure is good or bad, and we don't rank councils. The median is ours, computed across the Victorian councils that report each measure. The file also carries a target column, which is each council's own target, not a state standard; we don't show it. Per-property figures for a council of this size and area can sit well away from the median; we report them as published. In recent years the council has received bushfire emergency, recovery and one-off project grants, which the 2026–27 Budget says explain its high cash balances.
Sources — check it yourself
- Local Government Victoria — LGPRF 2020–2025 Full Council Data Set (XLSX, Nov 2025 release) · 2024–25
- DataVic — Know Your Council: Local Government Performance Reporting (dataset page, CC BY 4.0) · 2024–25
- Victorian Government — Know Your Council comparison dashboard · 2024–25
- Towong Shire Council — Budget 2026–27, adopted 24 June 2026 (PDF) · 2026–27
- Towong Shire Council — Budgets · Sep 2026
- Towong Shire Council — Annual report · Sep 2026
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.