A STATE government website tracking the performance of councils across Victoria shows Kingston Council collects higher rates than similar-sized councils in the state but performs above average on providing the basics of roads but may need to work on improving rubbish bins collection.
The Know Your Council site was launched by the Labor state government two years ago and is updated annually to give ratepayers a snapshot of how their council is performing across a range of services including community care, planning and waste collection.
Information on the site for the 2015-16 financial year, released last week, shows Kingston Council collected $1716.68 on average per ratepayer in the municipality compared to $1564.95 at similar councils.
The site shows 98.92 per cent of roads in Kingston are sealed “to condition standards” against a 94.97 per cent average at similar councils.
In Kingston, about six bins were missed for collection per 10,000 households, slightly above the similar-sized councils’ average of 5.68 missed per 10,000 households.
Council costs per kerbside rubbish bins collection were lower than average though at $99.34 per bin for the year compared to $106.81 annually at comparable councils.
Victorian Local Government Minister Marlene Kairouz focused on transparency at councils when releasing the updated figures this month.
“We’re making councils more accountable and transparent to the ratepayers they represent,” Ms Kairouz said in a statement.
“Know Your Council is a great resource for all things local government and includes important information on the function of councils, election information, key contacts and news from across the sector.
“This latest round of data will allow ratepayers to better monitor how their council is performing now – compared to previous years and other councils.”
Kingston Council made 5.99 per cent of its decisions at meetings closed to the public, lower than the average 7.17 per cent at similar councils.
The Know Your Council site listed community satisfaction with council decisions at 60 per cent, in line with an average of 59 per cent at comparable councils.
See knowyourcouncil.vic.gov.au online for council performance data and responses from council management in each service category.
First published in the Chelsea Mordialloc Mentone News – 13 December 2017
