By Bonny Burrows
Cardinia Shire Council will endeavour to “better communicate” with the community in light of its 2017 Local Government Community Satisfaction Survey results which saw resident satisfaction fall to its lowest yet.
The results, which were released on 18 September following a phone survey of the 400 randomly selected shire residents, indicate that while there were improved results on last year in the area of customer service, residents felt further work needed to be done in regards to road maintenance, community consultation and communication.
According to a report on the survey’s results, the council’s overall performance scored at 57, fell two points below the state average and represented a three-point decline on the 2016 result.
“This continues the downward trend in overall performance observed from the peak index score of 63 in 2014,” the report reads.
“Overall performance ratings have returned to their lowest level, equal to the 2012 index score.”
The results indicated residents in the shire’s growth area perceived the council most favourably, while those in the hills and southern rural areas thought more work could be done.
This echoes community comments to the Gazette which raised concerns that the council was focussed on its growth areas such as Officer and neglected the smaller outer communities.
Resident perceptions of the council’s overall performance had also decreased among all demographic and geographic subgroups, according to the report, with the exception of residents aged 50 to 64 years.
Mayor Brett Owen said the results were a snapshot of how residents perceived the council and the services it provided.
“Overall the results indicate that the council is seen to be managing its activities and delivering the services needed by the community,” councillor Owen said.
“While some of the results were disappointing, it tells us the areas where we need to focus more effort and better communicate to the community some of our positive achievements.
“We will use this feedback from residents to continue to improve our services and to review and improve how we interact with the community.”
The survey results can be found in the agenda for the 18 September Cardinia Shire Council meeting at https://www.cardinia.vic.gov.au/meetings/meeting/62/council_meeting.
