THE draft budget to go before Bathurst Regional Council tonight must be one of the most difficult the organisation has had to prepare in many years. Or maybe not.
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As much as council wants to call it a business as usual document, the reality is things are anything but at present.
The coronavirus shutdowns have greatly impacted the ledger for council and no one can say with any certainty just how much longer they may go on.
And council has previously revealed its own stimulus package to support local businesses during the pandemic, with those measures alone expected to cost almost $1 million over the next 14 months or so.
So it is intriguing that the budget, as stated within the report to Wednesday night's council meeting, "has been constructed on a 'business as usual' basis so that any change to operations due to Covid-19 can be quantified and reported separately".
But this budget is also an important road map for navigating the Bathurst region's path out of the pandemic.
As our city, our state and our nation emerge from the economic carnage wrought by the virus, it will be important for council to lead the way.
And the millions of dollars worth of planned infrastructure spending outlined in the draft budget can only aid that process.
The really big-ticket item in this budget is (again) the second track at Mount Panorama, with more than $45 million set aside so far with the hope of more to come from state and federal government.
Council is continuing to chip away at the reports and planning needed to make the second circuit a reality but we are now at the point we can confidently call the project a matter of when, not if.
The second track will not only provide a new long-term source of income for the region but also a short-term economic boost during the construction stage - and it's a boost that will be warmly welcomed.
Elsewhere in the budget there is money to build a car park at the Hereford Street playing fields, additional works at the small animal pound, construction of the art gallery's new collections facility and millions of dollars for about two dozen road upgrades across the region - to name just a few.
The uncertain times means it's unlikely all the projects listed will be started in the next financial year, but every sod that council is able to turn will bring rich benefits for the broader Bathurst economy.
