District council will come calling
‘Are you happy with our services?’ That’s the question the Far North District Council is about to put to some of the people it serves.
Local authorities are required to conduct an annual resident opinion survey for performance reporting purposes, and the FNDC has commissioned Versus Research Ltd to survey 500 households to find out how people think it is performing across a range of service areas. Versus will also interview 90 randomly-selected residents of the Thames-Coromandel, Opotiki and Gisborne districts to allow the council to gauge how it is performing against similar-sized authorities.
The results will be published in a report that councillors will consider in August.
Acting chief executive Colin Dale said the council relied on the annual telephone survey to gauge whether it was meeting key performance goals. Management and elected members had been pleased to see improved levels of satisfaction with footpaths, urban storm water management, recycling facilities, cemeteries, coastal access, parks and reserves in last year’s survey.
“We exceeded our performance targets and scored well against other councils in these areas,” Mr dale said, but only 42 per cent of respondents were happy with the council’s maintenance of the district’s roading network, compared to 51 per cent in 2013, and only 33 per cent were satisfied with the standard of public swimming pools.
Mr Dale said the lower rate of satisfaction with roads wasn’t surprising. The network had suffered from years of under-investment as a result of government road subsidy policies that worked against the interests of rural road authorities. Heavy trucks and storms had also taken their toll.
“We consulted communities about road repair options, as well as proposals to build new indoor heated swimming pools, in March and April. Elected members will decide which of these options to proceed with when they finalise our long-term plan next month,” he added.
Mr Dale hoped people would make time to give their feedback if Versus randomly selected their household to take part in the 20-minute survey between now and June 12.
“We appreciate that people are busy, and ask them to consider the survey as an opportunity to improve services that impact on every one of us every day,” he said.