The Victorian towns of Rochester and Echuca are still dealing with the fall-out from the worst natural disaster in living memory and Campaspe Shire Council continues to try and deal with the "weight of all that".
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A year on from the October 2022 flood event and, despite steps forward, the recovery is still expected to take upwards of six years.
Campaspe Shire Council is set to struggle with budget deficits for years as they deal with roads that need repairs, destroyed infrastructure and residents still living in caravans and makeshift accommodation after floods destroyed their homes.
The shire is hoping the new Premier, and Bendigo East member, Jacinta Allan travel to the region to see the slow rate of recovery first hand and to open the hub on October 13.
One day out no guarantees have been given but "our team is talking to the Premier's office and if she was able to come it would be fantastic," Campaspe Shire mayor Rob Amos said.
Ms Allan, on the day she took up her new role, promised to The Bendigo Advertiser to head into rural areas. In the three years he has been on council, Cr Amos never met her predecessor Dan Andrews.
"The main benefit of having a premier from regional Victoria is they have a better understanding of what the unique needs of regional Victorians are," the mayor said.
The hub highlights how much help the community needs - and will continue to need.
"There's a vehicle attached to that, an outreach service that can go anywhere taking food and clothing to people who need it," Cr Amos said.
Baptism of fire into mayoral role
Cr Amos was elected mayor of the shire in November last year, a month after the floods swept through. He has been at the forefront of the recovery effort.
That includes a public stoush with state and federal government politicians over the red tape involved in getting flood assistance funding on the ground to the people who need it most.
It even involved him taking a trip to Canberra alongside other flood-affected shire representatives to get the point across.
Given the enormity of the clean up involved, Cr Amos has been proud to have taken up the fight.
"It's been a really busy year but I've been privileged to have been a part of it," he said.
"I've learnt so much from talking to the community, I've loved talking to so many people and all levels of government.
"There's been a huge amount of trauma and I've taken my responsibility very seriously."
Towns still on tenterhooks
Last year's flood event was accompanied by constant heavy rain - upwards of 100mm fell - and while it has been a dry start to spring this year, fears of a repeat are never far away.
Around 44mm of rain fell across the region on October 3, 2023 setting people on edge again.
"The rain event last week concerned a lot of people," Cr Amos said.
"It brought back a whole lot of memories for people still fighting going forward.
"The Campaspe River was not hugely affected but there were river rises on the Murray in Echuca at the wharf and that will continue for a week or two."
Shire faces years of deficit as it rebuilds
Council was facing a deficit of $2.1 million in the 2022/23 financial year but some government funding assistance has helped deliver a surplus of $3m.
However, the council faces a $4.93 million deficit in the 2023/24 financial year, which is smaller than the $5.78m deficit initially budgeted, thanks once again to some state government funding advice.
"The floods have cost us," Cr Amos said.
Among the cost has been the $1.2 million rates relief package.
"Depending on the severity of how bad a person's property has flooded and the damage people may have received the full rates relief," Cr Amos said.
"We are understaffed at the moment, like other councils are, but we still budget for a full complement all the time and we would budget to pay out all long service payments in one year.
"That never happens but we budget for that so there's those sort of accounting anomalies that affect the budget (bottom line).
"Financially we are ok. We've got a good amount of money in the bank.
"But we need to look forward because we are looking at deficits the next few years and we need to review all our services, whether they're operating efficiently or are fit for purpose."
Cr Amos said most of the shire's non-essential services closed during the flood event.
"The libraries closed, the parks and gardens staff stopped what they were doing and were diverted elsewhere manning relief centres, deploying pumps, operating pumps, emergency management and building inspections.
"Most of our services are back up now, but a lot were shut down which is the normal process in the face of disaster."
As well as having to close services, Cr Amos is acutely aware of the need to have infrastructure up and running for the benefit of people's wellbeing.
Anniversary a poignant moment
The future of the Rochester swimming pool remains up in the air - it was effectively destroyed in the floods and has not re-opened.
"Rochester pool is not in good condition," Cr Amos said.
"It's a 70-year-old pool and it's been pushed past its limit. A lot of maintenance has been spent on it but it is an important piece of infrastructure."
"The consultation delivered 500 responses and we need to do the analysis on that," Cr Amos said.
"The talk is very broad at the moment. Is the pool in the right place? Is it the right size? Does it need a splash park attached to it? How can we make this work?
"We would also need to approach both levels of government for funding because pools aren't cheap."
As well as the official opening of the recovery hub on October 13, the anniversary of the floods will feature a music event called Rocohella at the Rochester Recreation Reserve on Sunday, October 14.
"I'll be there at Rochella and there will be a memorial service on the Sunday at the riverbank where a wreath will be released into the river," Cr Amos said.
The mayor said while Rochella was a celebration of the recovery work since the floods, it would also be a traumatic time for victims recalling the natural disaster, highlighting the difficult process of rebuilding the lives and communities which were devastated 12 months ago.
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