RESIDENTS have given Kingston Council an above average mark for overall performance in this year’s independent Community Satisfaction Survey.
Four hundred households took part in the annual state-wide survey by the Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning through independent group JWS Research in February and March.
More than 28,000 Victorians were interviewed about the performance of their councils in the survey, which is completed on behalf of the 69 councils participating this year.
Kingston mayor Cr Tamsin Bearsley praised the council’s overall score of 66, which she said was “well above the state-wide council average of 59”.
“We strive to deliver great services and value for money and the survey shows people appreciate this,” she said.
Kingston also scored strongly in the key areas of customer service (74) and overall council direction (66) – both said to be “significantly higher” than the state average.
It performed well across most core and individual service measures, achieving stable results in 14 of 25 key measures, with residents giving the thumbs up to waste management (76), appearance of public areas (73), Kingston’s art centres and libraries (72), and recreation facilities (71).
Local Government Minister Natalie Hutchins said the survey also showed a slight decline in overall satisfaction.
“The results show a clear picture about what is most important to ratepayers and provides further evidence of the need for the state government’s local government reform agenda,” she said.
State-wide, the survey found that emergency management, waste, community decisions and unsealed roads were the most important services and issues for Victorian ratepayers.
Overall, the best-rated council services among residents state-wide were libraries, arts centres, the appearance of public areas and waste management.
Residents across the state were largely positive in their outlook, with 68 per cent believing their council was on the right track. This compares with 18 per cent who believe their council’s direction has deteriorated.
Cr Bearsley said Kingston Council believed it was important to take part in the voluntary survey to check in with residents and listen to their responses. “We always have areas we can improve on and it is vital that we hear from our community to ensure we can make changes where necessary.”
The council’s bottom three performance service areas were planning permits, planning for population growth in the area and town planning policy.
“These results were shared by local councils across the state,” Cr Bearsley said.
“All centre on the challenge of balancing demand for higher density living in a time of population growth with community expectations.”
Cr Bearsley said that, when the survey was conducted earlier in the year, the council rated poorly in the areas of lobbying and community consultation. “We’ve held a wide range of community consultation this year, with more than 1500 community responses on a broad range of topics, including the Bay Trail, public toilets, animal management, traffic issues and an apartment survey,” she said.
“To ensure the council better informs the community about the many ways they can have their say, we are also undertaking a communications survey to hear how people want to be kept informed.”
Ms Hutchins said the survey was an important tool to help councils align their work with areas for improvement and the views of their communities.
“In conjunction with the data on Know Your Council, the survey provides a good basis for ratepayers to assess their council.”
First published in the Chelsea Mordialloc Mentone News – 13 July 2016
