February in Port Phillip is a funny sort of month – we are back at work or school, but the summer lingers on and the beach still beckons…. February, however, is also the month many bills come due for payment, not least of which our Council rates, and a key theme for Residents of Port Phillip this year will be pushing for a rates freeze. Our February edition of Port Phillip Matters therefore leads off with an article on why a rates freeze is so important and also gives our readers a deep dive into the Port Phillip budget process via our budget submission.

We also profile Cr. Serge Thomann, an experienced and independent St Kilda resident who has been putting wins on the board for his ward and the larger Port Phillip community, and we take a balanced look at how well the “Snap, Send, Solve” process is working in practice.

Finally, this year the editors of Port Phillip Matters  want to try something a bit different; we’d like to publish stories about life in Port Phillip from you, our readers and supporters, so we are appealing to our “Portmates” to get the creative juices flowing and send us along interesting stories about what is happening in the broader community – or even articles about interesting aspects of the history of Port Phillip.