Community gives feedback on Council Services
Residents have given Kingston Council positive results in the annual independent Community Satisfaction Survey, with strong improvement across a number of service areas.
Kingston Mayor Georgina Oxley welcomed Council’s consistent overall performance score of 64, above the state-wide council average of 60. “Kingston strives to deliver great services, value for money and the survey shows people appreciate this with our overall score remaining stable and above the state average,” Cr Oxley said.
Four hundred randomly selected Kingston residents took part in the annual survey – coordinated by the Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning and conducted by independent group JWS Research in February this year.
Kingston’s strongest performing areas were appearance of public areas (score of 76), our recreational facilities (score of 74) and Kingston’s Art Centres & Libraries (73).
“The areas we showed most improvement in were the appearance of public areas, planning and building permits, Council’s general town planning policy and decisions made in the interest of the community – with all these areas jumping 3-4 points since last year’s survey which was great to see,” Cr Oxley said.
Cr Oxley said 74% of residents believe Council is heading in the right direction – up from 66% last year. “When compared to the previous year, over 60% of service area scores have either improved or remained stable. While there’s plenty to celebrate, we are also keen to hear from the community about areas for ongoing improvement.”
The areas identified by the community as being of most importance and needing improvement were planning for population growth, parking facilities and decisions made in the interest of the community.
The results also recorded a drop in the areas of waste management, environmental sustainability plus community & cultural activities.
“In light of the recycling crisis facing Australia and concerns about Melbourne’s increasing population these results are not surprising,” Cr Oxley said.
“Kingston is responding at a local level and has already planned major improvements in our waste management with $1.5 million set aside in our budget to introduce a Food and Organics recycling service. Council is also consulting the community on a draft Neighbourhood Character Strategy and Housing Strategy to help guide development in local suburbs.”
