Friday 12 February 2010

Resident Survey shows positive trends

The latest Clutha District Council Resident Survey reveals some positive trends in the way residents rate Council and the services it provides.  

The Resident Survey 2009 was conducted via phone over three weeks in November last year. A total of 633 randomly selected residents took part and were asked about their satisfaction with various Council services.

As has been a common trend since Council began conducting resident surveys in 2006, the highest ratings went to library services (97% resident satisfaction rate), wheelie bins (96%) and information/service centres (94%).

Chief Executive Charles Hakkaart said one of the most pleasing aspects of the latest survey results, however, was to see large upward trends in residents’ satisfaction with the overall performance of the Council since surveying began.

The rating for the effectiveness and advice from Council staff has risen 21% since 2006, from 44% to 65%; the decision-making, planning and leadership of elected members increased 14%, from 46% to 60%; and the overall performance of Council also increased 14%, from 50% to 64%.

Mr Hakkaart said it was also good to see the average rating for footpaths up significantly, increasing 10% on last year, from 31% to 41%.

“A considerable amount of effort and expenditure has been put into improving footpaths around the district over the past two years and this work appears to be reflected in the survey results.”

Despite the improvement, however, he acknowledged footpaths were still Council’s lowest ranking Council service. More improvements are planned as the footpath upgrade programme continues to be rolled out around the district.

Other pleasing aspects of the survey include the increase in the number of residents taking steps to prepare themselves for a Civil Defence emergency. For the first time, more than half (52%) of respondents had taken some steps to prepare for a disaster, compared to just 39% in 2006.

The rating for the quality of town water supplies has also risen significantly since surveying began, up 16% from 43% to 59%. This is another area where Council has focused effort on in recent years, and more improvements are planned with government assisted upgrades planned in Balclutha, Kaitangata, Lawrence and Tapanui over the next two years.

Disappointing aspects of this year’s survey include drops in the level of satisfaction with swimming pools (down 12%), public toilets (down 10%).

Mr Hakkaart said the swimming pool result could be largely attributed to problems at Balclutha and Milton pools last year. Major refurbishments at both pools are planned over the next year or so, which should lead to an improvement in future rating levels.

A copy of the Resident Survey report is available online by clicking here