Results for Whakatāne District Council's 2018/19 Communitrak Perception Survey have been received and show the community is largely pleased with the organisation's work.
The survey, which Council undertakes every year to gauge how residents perceive its key services, facilities, elected representatives and staff, showed that 2018/19 has the highest average levels of satisfaction and the lowest average levels of dissatisfaction since 2013/14. Satisfaction with tourism promotion, for example, is up 12 percentage points and dissatisfaction is down 10. Walking/cycling facilities and stormwater are up 10 and down six, while refuse/transfer station facilities are up six and down three.
The information captured by the survey is used alongside other data to help guide Council's corporate planning and performance frameworks. "The survey also gives us the opportunity to ask specific questions about Council policy and direction, projects, and local issues," says Cashy Ball, Manager Strategy and Community Development. "The positive results reflect the continuous efforts of Council staff to ensure all Whakatāne district communities receive the best possible services and facilities. There is a strong correlation between areas the community indicated in previous surveys it would like to see Council spending more and the areas in which we've had strong positive movement.
"Our performance has continued to improve. When we compare our results with similar councils, we are scoring ahead of our peer group for a good number of results, and only notably behind the average in a few areas. Quality of life continues to score extremely highly in the district, with 63 percent of responses rating quality of life as "very high" - significantly ahead of the national average of 40 percent."
The survey, however, highlighted some areas that need improvement. Satisfaction with Council roads showed a downwards trend, while community board performance continued to show a trend of uncertainty around the performance of community boards, with 42 percent of respondents answering "Don’t know". Council footpath satisfaction levels were also among the biggest decreases in the 2018/19 survey. "This is valuable in identifying public needs and wants, and it helps us to focus our efforts and our resources into the areas that are important for our community," Cashy says.
Council has used the Communitrak Perception Survey, conducted by NRB, since 2014. Respondents are randomly sampled, with quotas for gender and community boards, and a target of 90 respondents in the 18-44 age demographic. Full survey results are published annually on our website.