Community Survey Results

COMMUNITY SURVEY REVEALS SATISFIED RESIDENTS IN JUNEE

Junee Shire Council’s 2011 Community Survey has revealed that 76 per cent of Junee residents are either satisfied or very satisfied with Council’s overall performance.

The survey was conducted by IRIS Research, which specialises in business and government research. Phone interviews took place over three days in September, and aimed to gain an understanding of the perceptions and needs of the local community with respect to Council’s services and facilities, and to customer service.

Key results include:

502 residents surveyed from Junee township and rural areas.
76% satisfaction rating with Council’s overall performance.
No significant differences in the satisfaction rating between rural residents and Junee township residents.
Areas where Council is performing well – customer service; service facilities (older);waste collection;appearance of towns;parks, playgrounds and reserves; promotion of tourism; and food safety.
Priority areas for improvements – maintaining town roads, consulting with the community, and Council leadership and advocacy.
74.9% of residents are not opposed to the idea of moderately increasing rates to maintain services and facilities in the Shire.
52.8% of residents felt they received good value for their rate money and 33.0% had an ok perception of their value for rate money.
Junee Shire Council is significantly better than the worst performing Council on the IRIS Research database, and on par with the best performing Council.

Mayor of Junee Shire, Lola Cummins, said the results are extremely pleasing and provide Council with valuable insights into what residents think it is doing well, and where improvements can be made.

“This survey was commissioned to provide an on-going community assessment of Council’s performance in the delivery of key services and facilities,” Mayor Cummins said.

“The response from residents was excellent, with a representative sample taken from both Junee township and the surrounding rural villages. We are pleased to see that key Council service areas, such as customer service, waste collection, open space and aged services are meeting the needs and expectations of our residents. It is also good to see that residents are acknowledging the promotion of tourism, which has been a focus area for Council in recent years, as one of our strengths.”

“The results also identified some priority areas for Council to focus its attention on and make improvements. These are roads, community consultation, leadership and advocacy. These results are consistent with many other Councils and we will continue to look for ways to address these areas and improve satisfaction.”

“Residents have contributed some excellent comments and feedback which will be reviewed and considered when developing the 2012/2013 budget and making decisions on service provisions,” Mayor Cummins said.