Council doubles Docklands profit

The City of Melbourne more than doubled its profit from Docklands in the last financial year.

Council’s budget surplus for Docklands was $9.16 million, more than double the almost $4 million profit it made in the 2013-14 financial year.

According to the Docklands Finance and Infrastructure Plan 2014-15, presented to the Docklands Co-ordination Committee last month, the council’s Dockland’s surplus was $11.16 million, a positive variance of $3.5 million against its budget.

However, the report also noted that indirect costs of more than $2 million were included in the figures, leading to an overstatement of the surplus.

The higher than anticipated surplus was associated with higher revenue and
lower expenses.

The council had a slightly higher revenue of  $25.18 million against a budget of $24.9 million due to higher supervision and civil works fees from Docklands’ developments and higher than anticipated wharf
berthing fees.

The council also saved more than $1 million on maintenance and community service costs due to the Library at the Dock opening later than expected.

It also made a $230,000 saving due to lower than expected costs for contractors and consultants in relation to Docklands waterways and Marina YE management.

The Docklands Co-ordination Committee also approved a five-year finance and infrastructure plan at its September 15 meeting.

According to the report, the council estimates a surplus of  $11.7 million from Docklands in the current financial year.

It plans to spend $16.2 million on Docklands expenses and has budgeted $3.1 million for capital works. The council estimates its total revenue from the suburb will be $26.8 million during this financial year.

The council also estimates that in the following four years, between 2016 and 2020, it will make more than  $82.9 million from Docklands.

However, this figure doesn’t take into account council’s capital investment in Docklands, which are subject to budgets for each financial year, and will reduce the surplus figure.