New Farm Council Adopts 2026 Community Priorities Reallocation, Redirecting Event Grants to Transport Routes

The New Farm Council approved the 2026 Community Priorities Reallocation on 7 July, moving $1.8 million from neighborhood event grants to fixed-route bus and road resurfacing contracts. The change directly alters funding for groups that run weekly markets in the central business district and for households along the Riverside and Hilltop corridors that rely on existing transit timetables.

Council documents show the reallocation stems from updated traffic counts completed in March 2026 and from resident petitions filed in April that listed missed medical appointments due to irregular service on two routes. The policy applies only to discretionary grants and leaves statutory obligations such as library operations untouched.

Who receives new service and who loses grant money

Households in the Hilltop ward will see two additional weekday bus trips on Route 12 beginning in October, funded by the redirected amount. Small business operators along Main Street who previously received $4,000 annual market grants will instead apply through a narrower infrastructure-matching program that requires a 50 percent local contribution. Seniors groups that organized monthly socials in the civic hall have been notified their applications now fall outside the revised criteria.

The 2026-27 budget papers list the exact transfer: $1.8 million moved from the Community Events line item to the Transport Capital Works account. No new revenue measures accompany the shift.

Next steps for applicants and riders

Grant applicants must submit revised forms by 15 August. Route 12 timetables will be posted at stops by 1 September, with the first expanded service running on 6 October. Council staff will hold two public briefings on 22 July at the civic hall to explain the new application rules.