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Armadale council disappointed at lack of funding for court and police precincts

Tim SlaterComment News

The State Government allocated $700,000 for a |design and accommodation brief for the precinct in its 2016-17 Budget.

A further $1.1 million was allocated in the 2018-19 forward estimates.

“We are encouraged by a small allocation for design and preliminaries but it is time this project was shown in the State Government’s forward |estimates,” Armadale Mayor Henry Zelones said.

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Meanwhile, Cr Zelones welcomed funding for the widening of Armadale Road, with $20 million allocated to the project in 2016-17, although design and construction work isn’t expected to start until later in 2017.

“Congestion on Armadale Road and at Cockburn Central costs millions in lost productivity as residents east of the Kwinana Freeway try to access jobs, goods and services on the west side and along the coast,” he said.

He said the State Budget would put further pressure on families and councils in the lead-up to setting their own budgets and rates for next year.

“There is no relief for local families,” Cr Zelones said.

He said an analysis of the budget had shown total expenditure by the “representative household” on a basket of government goods and services in 2016-17 was $5659.92, up $257 or 4.76 per cent on 2015-16 levels.

“This won’t just affect Armadale,” he said.

“Local governments throughout the state will wear the brunt of these announcements and the potential flow-on impacts to individuals, families and business.

“However, with major projects under way and a fast growing community, we cannot slow down and will continue to do our best to meet the needs of our growing population.”