BENDIGO’S kerbside waste collection service is one of the most expensive to operate in regional Victoria, according to a state government website that compares local government areas.
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The new “Know Your Council” website is a tool for residents to see how services are being delivered and how councils are performing.
In many areas, Bendigo stacks up well against other regional councils. But it costs the City of Greater Bendigo $140.35 per bin to operate its kerbside waste collection service each year – well above the state average of $101.16.
Other councils in the “regional city” category operate their waste collection services much cheaper, among them Ballarat ($107.52 per bin) and Shepparton ($50.06). Wangaratta spends $165.30 per bin.
But City of Greater Bendigo CEO Craig Niemann said what mattered to ratepayers was how much they themselves paid for a collection service, adding that on that front, Bendigo compared well with Ballarat.
“We charge residents $138 to have their 140-litre rubbish bin collected weekly and $64.50 to have their 240-litre recycle bin collected fortnightly. This adds up to $202.50. The City of Ballarat charges a waste fee of $284 to collect the same bin sizes and receive the same collection service,” he said.
“Yet the website says that the direct cost to Ballarat council to deliver a kerbside garbage collection service is $107.52 compared to $140.35 for us. We don’t know how Ballarat has calculated their figures so we are unable to say why there’s are lower than ours.”
The City of Greater Bendigo performs well in other areas. Only 4 per cent of council decisions are made in closed meetings, well below the state average of 12 per cent. Bendigo councillors attend 96 per cent of meetings, slightly above the state average of 91.85 per cent, while community satisfaction with council decisions is just 51 out of 100 – but the state average is only 55.
Mr Niemann said he was happy with how Bendigo stacked up but improvements could be made.
“It is pleasing to see that we compare favourably to our peers. The city is particularly strong in the delivery of food safety services and road maintenance, has transparent decision-making processes, collects less rates and has good immunisation rates.”
View the website at: www.knowyourcouncil.vic.gov.au
