ACCORDING to a regular Greater Shepparton City Council telephone run Community Satisfaction survey, almost half of the public surveyed indicated that Council was not consulting the community adequately. Lobbying on behalf of the community only satisfied 52 percent of those surveyed, community consultation 53 percent and overall value for money at 53 percent, all were down on previous years.
The survey indicates that only 61 percent of the public expressed satisfaction with the Council’s performance which is on par with the previous surveys.
The 2020 Quarter 3 Community Satisfaction Survey was conducted between 2-18 March 2020 at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Despite closing face-to-face meetings due to COVID-19, Council’s customer service was rated 70, which is just one point behind the results of the 2018 and 2019 Quarter 3 surveys.
Overall waste services rated 75, which is a higher score than the majority of Victorian Councils, overall roads footpaths and cycle-ways (61) and overall parks and reserves (77) rated well, and invoicing is clear and correct (76) also continued on the upward trend it has seen in recent quarters.
Greater Shepparton City Council Direc tor Corporate Services, Chris Teitzel, said the survey is an important measure for Council to understand whether it is meeting community expectations of the services it provides.
Given that only 51 percent consider that they are and almost as many consider they are not, and that measure has not changed other than to go down since previous surveys, it suggests the Council needs to look more closely at and spend more time listening to the community opinions.
