Council gets good marks but work to be done

Monday, 23 July 2018

 The Timaru District Council appears to have got the big tick from residents, but needs to make improvements on the roading front and in handling complaints, according to a wide-ranging customer survey.

About 400 people participated in the biennial survey, which was undertaken by Key Research. The council would not reveal how much money the survey cost.

The survey revealed 80 per cent of residents were either satisfied or very satisfied with the council as a whole, similar numbers to the 2016 survey. It also received a benchmark score of 93 out of 150 for reputation, which is considered excellent, according to the survey metrics. 

Of the various departments, the respondents were most satisfied with public facilities, such as libraries, swimming pools, the Aigantighe Art Gallery and the South Canterbury Museum, with a 90 per cent overall satisfaction rate, an increase of 5 per cent on 2016.

There were also high satisfaction rates for parks, reserves and open spaces (91 per cent), while the council's waste disposal and recycling portfolio also received high marks (92 per cent). 

In contrast, there was particular concern about suitable cycleways, with only 57 per cent of respondents satisfied or very satisfied with the current arrangement, along with similarly low levels of satisfaction with the condition of footpaths (59 per cent) and rural roads (60 per cent).

There was also a drop in residents' satisfaction with the council's handling of complaints, with only 50 per cent satisfied, down by more than 25 per cent on the previous survey. 

However, the survey revealed that trust in the council (70 per cent), and its reputation for being good value for money (72 per cent), had largely remained the same since 2016. Meanwhile, there was also a big rise in the community's satisfaction levels for public toilets, to 72 per cent, an 11 per cent jump on the previous survey. 

Timaru District Mayor Damon Odey said the survey gave the council and councillors a lot to think about.

'It's a really positive report overall, but it also gives us a chance to look at what we can do better,' he said

Odey was particularly pleased with the fact that more residents felt they could influence council's decision-making, according to the survey. Satisfaction in that regard improved from 47 per cent in 2016 to 53 in the latest survey.

'We put a lot of effort into the consultation process for our Long Term Plan. People need to realise that this is their council, and their voice is important.'

He was also pleased with results showing nearly all residents (95 per cent) consider Timaru to be at least as good a place to live as it was three years ago.