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Ratepayers in the City of Greater Bendigo are more satisfied with their council’s performance now than 12 months ago, results of an annual survey have revealed.
But council leaders and those responsible for the survey believe there is still room for improvement.
Collated by independent research firm JWS Research, responses from 400 Bendigo residents found overall satisfaction with their local government’s performance grew four percentage points in the last year, from 52 per cent to 56 per cent.
That figure is still below the 63 per cent satisfaction rate recorded from 2012 to 2014, and was described in the JWS report as significantly lower than the statewide average (59 per cent).
It is just one percentage point behind the average for regional councils.
The criterion in which Greater Bendigo saw the greatest improvement was council’s direction, up 10 points.
The municipality also fared well when it came to the state of its sealed roads; Bendigonians returned a more favourable response on this front than other regional centres and the state as a whole.
Young voters were the happiest with their council’s performance, with those 18 to 34 years old returning the most positive responses.
Heathcote residents and those older than 65 were among the demographics most critical of the city.
The council’s chief executive officer, Craig Niemann, said it was “really pleasing” to see improvements were being made.
“The city works hard to make improvements when it comes to service delivery and is encouraged by the survey results. We hope to see a continual improvement over the coming years,” Mr Niemann said.
“The executive will review the results and consider ways it can work with staff to make a greater impact and continue to deliver quality services to residents.”
Mayor Margaret O’Rourke echoed the CEO’s sentiments, saying it was an endorsement of the new council’s election.
“Councillors recognise it is early in our term but we look forward to contributing to further improvements and hopefully this will be reflected in future survey results,” she said.
In its report, JWS urged the City of Greater Bendigo to work on its community decision-making and feedback, which rated significantly lower than in 2014.
“Performance ratings for both areas have changed little over the past two years, after falling significantly from peak index scores of 59 and 57 in 2014,” It read.
“Consideration should be given to adults aged 65+ years and Heathcote residents (small sample size) who are most critical of Council in these two areas, and overall,” it read.
Of the 400 people surveyed this year from February 1 to March 30, 59 per cent had recent contact with the city.
This was an increase of eight points from last year.