Community Satisfaction Survey

Every year, the Rural City of Wangaratta participates in the Local Government Victoria (LGV) led Community Satisfaction Survey for Victorian Councils.

To ensure a broad representation of views, residents are randomly selected and contacted to participate in a survey.  The survey asks for their opinion about:

  • Council’s overall performance
  • Performance and importance of individual council services
  • Value for money of services and infrastructure
  • Community consultation and engagement
  • Decisions made in the interest of the community
  • Customer service
  • Local infrastructure and facilities
  • Overall council direction.

The objective of the survey is to help Council identify where it is performing well and which services or activities need to be improved in the eyes of the community.

The report also enables Council to review and compare our performance against the average for regional councils across Victoria.

The survey is undertaken on behalf of LGV through an independent company, JWS Research.

2023 Results

The Rural City of Wangaratta recorded a steady result in the 2023 Community Satisfaction Survey(PDF, 3MB), with an Overall Performance score of 63. This remains statistically substantially higher (at the 95% confidence interval) than the average rating for both the Regional Centres group and the State-wide average for all councils (index scores of 56 each).

The Overall Performance score has dropped three points since the peak experienced across all scores at the height of covid in 2021, however continues to remain at a higher level than recorded in all prior evaluation years. 

Community satisfaction in the Local Government Performance Reporting Framework reporting requirements for Wangaratta were:

  • Council’s performance on Customer Service 69 (Regional Centres, ‘RCs’: 68).
  • Council’s performance on informing the community 57 (RCs: 55).
  • Community engagement and consultation 53 (RCs: 50).
  • Council’s performance in making decisions in the interest of the community 53 (RCs: 50), and,
  • Representation, lobbying and advocacy on behalf of community 55 (RCs: 52).

Areas of Strength

Arts Centres & Libraries remains Council’s best-performing service area (score of 76).  Council performs in line with the Regional Centres group and higher than the State-wide average in this service area.

The Appearance of Public Areas is Council’s next best performing service area (74).  Here, Council performs significantly higher than the Regional Centres group and State-wide averages.

Waste Management (72) and Recreational Facilities (71) are additional top performing service areas. In the case of Waste Management, Council performs significantly higher than the Regional Centres group and the State-wide average. In Recreational Facilities, Council performance is slightly higher than these benchmarks. 

Areas for improvement

Council performs lowest in Unsealed Roads (index score of 40).  The performance rating in this area declined from 45 last year.  Planning & Building Permits is Council’s next lowest-rated service area (index score of 47, vs 51 last year).

Sealed Local Roads is another low-rated service (score of 50) that has declined along with Local Streets & Footpaths (score: 51) which is similarly low and with both declining significantly this year.

How is Council working to improve these areas?

Planning & Building Services

Performance on planning and building permits was impacted by staffing issues last year. Council has worked hard to resolve this and ensure that the planning and building departments are appropriately resourced.  This will enable us to continue to work with applicants and other required agencies to give advice and ensure information is dealt with in a timely manner going forward. 

Roads & Infrastructure:

The effects of climate change, such as increased rainfall, extreme weather events, and temperature fluctuations, are having a noticeable impact on our region’s infrastructure.

Roads in particular are susceptible to these changes as they are exposed to the elements and constant wear and tear from more and heavier vehicles. The increased rainfall over the past two years has caused significant damage and deterioration, making roads less reliable and comfortable for the community.

To address these challenges, it's crucial for Council to advocate for increased funding and resources. This will enable the necessary repairs and maintenance to bring the road network back to a more resilient and reliable state. Infrastructure investments should consider climate resilience and long-term fiscal sustainability.

View the full copy here: Community-Satisfaction-Survey-2023.pdf(PDF, 3MB)

Previous Reports

Community-Satisfaction-Survey-2022.pdf(PDF, 4MB)

Community-Satisfaction-Survey-2021.pdf(PDF, 4MB)

Community-Satisfaction-Survey-2020.pdf(PDF, 3MB)

   

 

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