General News
8 August, 2023
ANALYSIS: Council satisfaction survey
ANALYSIS LODDON Shire’s satisfaction rating has taken a hit but council remains at least equal to other small municipalities in the Victoria. Last week’s release of the 2023 satisfaction survey was headlined by two key factors. Residents in the...
ANALYSIS
LODDON Shire’s satisfaction rating has taken a hit but council remains at least equal to other small municipalities in the Victoria.
Last week’s release of the 2023 satisfaction survey was headlined by two key factors.
Residents in the Inglewood and Tarnagulla Wards hold a diametrically opposed perception of council service delivery compared with fellow citizens in Boort and Terrick Wards.
And to an extent, Wedderburn Ward, where customer service was unsurprisingly given a high billing, that town is where the council offices are located.
Roads and emergency management were other factors that dragged Loddon’s satisfaction rating to the lowest in a decade.
Both are heavily influenced, even dictated by the State and Federal Government.
Loddon, like so many rural councils, has been screaming for more road money out of government.
Mayor Dan Straub said after the Premier’s bombshell cancellation of the Commonwealth Games that roads should be given part of the pot of “money saved”.
Even the $2 billion-plus the Government has now promised for housing and tourism, among other things, still not an extra cent for roads. Mayor Straub accurately said even the whole $2 billion wouldn’t solve the crumbling country road crisis.
Emergency management was also marked heavily by the 400 Loddon residents survey over four quarters.
All areas of the shire were impacted by last October’s flood emergency. Yet, again, councils only act when told by the State Control Centre based in Melbourne.
There were positives in the satisfaction survey. With a score of 70, the appearance of public areas rated above the state-wide average (score of 67), while recreational facilities with a score of 69 was above that of the state-wide and small rural council average (68 and 67 respectively).
Council’s score of 69 for waste management rated higher than both the state-wide and small rural council average of 66.
Council’s overall performance was rated at 56 – matching that of the state-wide average and slightly above the rating of 55 for the small rural council average. Informing the community received a score of 58, consistent with the small rural council average and slightly above the state-wide average of 57. Residents said they wanted more council information communicated through their local newspaper.
Community decisions at 54 scored above that of the small rural council average (52) and state-wide average (51). The survey also showed areas residents thought more work needed to be done, including unsealed roads, planning and building permits, and sealed local roads.
Council’s chief executive officer Lincoln Fitzgerald said: “This year’s survey has again provided some insights into areas where Council performs well and where we could perform better.
While the survey had sent contemporary messages to council, the State Government should also take heed of results across regional Victoria.
Councils need more money in core areas like roads! Not just slugging ratepayers more but making government allocations more realistic for the country.
- CHRIS EARL