A NEW report has found Wangaratta is the only North East council spending less on roads and bridges in the wake of rate capping.
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All other local government areas, extending from Strathbogie to Towong and Moira to Alpine, are now spending a greater percentage on roads and bridges, the Essential Services Commission found.
Wangaratta's outlay has dropped from 20.5 per cent of its expenditure in the two years before rate capping to 18 per cent in the two years since.
By comparison Wodonga has risen a per cent to 11.2, Alpine is up 12.2 per cent, Towong is up 6.3 and Indigo is up 2.8.
The commission found roads and bridges had experienced the biggest rise in spending by Wodonga Council since rate capping with a nine per cent spike, but there had been seven per cent falls in business and economic services and traffic and street management.
In Wangaratta there has been a 43 per cent increase in waste management spending and a 12 per cent drop in the funding of roads and bridges.
Overall, the commission found that across Victoria rate capping had unfolded without a significant impact on services and spending on council assets.
In Wodonga, the commission found "there is enough ongoing revenue to continue to fund the current level of service provision".
A similar line was taken with Alpine, Indigo, Moira, Towong and Wangaratta.
However, doubt about the sustainability of Benalla Rural City Council was raised.
"An ongoing negative result suggests that without the receipt of one-off grants or increases in ongoing revenue, the council may not have sufficient revenue to continue to fund the range and level of services it has been providing," the commission stated.
The report found Alpine and Strathbogie were the only North East councils to reduce percentage spending on wages since rate capping.
The Bright-based council had expenditure on employee costs drop from 36.4 per cent of its budget to 27.3 per cent after rate capping.
Wangaratta's staff budget share is the highest among North East councils at 42.1 per cent, with Wodonga on 37.5.