The draft 2015-16 budget and Long Term Financial Plan 2014-15 to 2024-25 make it plain that we are able to provide for today and are prepared for the future.

It is the role of the council to make difficult decisions so that we can meet the challenges that we see on the horizon.

The Special Rate Variation (SRV) has been necessary to fund the amount of road repairs, footpath renewal, stormwater improvements and building upgrades that we need across our city.

Meanwhile, we are working hard at increasing our income from businesses such as our nursery, tourist park, The Links, airport and stadium.

Currently the area of parkland we manage is more than the area of residential land across our local government area. We have plenty of great environmental initiatives that we partner with our community to achieve and will continue to fund works and programs that will support and improve our local biodiversity. Sportsfields, swimming pools and outdoor exercise areas are all part of providing residents with facilities to maintain good health and wellbeing while our libraries provide safe, indoor spaces that offer learning opportunities for people of all ages.

As our population continues to grow to a projected 85,000 in 20 years, we also have our focus on the horizon. We are planning for new development in the city centre as well as mapping a path to improve our town and village centres. New estates at extremes of our city - Calderwood and Shell Cove - are being planned for, while the Shell Cove boat harbour continues to draw closer to its 2019 forecast completion date.

The state government has set all NSW councils with the task of proving they are ready for the challenges of the future.

In June we will submit our report that shows the measures we have in place that will continue to improve our financial sustainability and that we are fit for the future. There is more information available on the council's website.

I would like to congratulate the 130 volunteers who helped to improve the Albion Park Rail Community Centre and areas at Albion Oval as part of the City Serve project in April. This was a fantastic initiative of City Serve that contributed 780 hours of volunteer labour to upgrade this community space.

I commend the organisers who worked with the council to achieve this fantastic result on behalf of the whole community.

Remember to take your dog and join in the Million Paws Walk event, 9am-1pm Sunday, May 17, at Reddall Reserve, Lake Illawarra. Free microchipping is available for dogs owned by Shellharbour City residents. If they are already microchipped, this is an excellent opportunity to check the details are correct so if they go missing, they can be returned home.