Four out of five think council is okay

Written by RICHARD JAGO.

LOCAL residents seem pleased with Mansfield Shire Council’s performance, according to a community satisfaction survey.

Almost 80 per cent of people surveyed regarded council’s overall performance as adequate or better.

The report intends to afford a reality check for local government bodies and to provide feedback on how they are perceived by the community.

This year’s survey - Mansfield’s eighth - took the form of a telephone interview of 350 people throughout the shire.

It reports on council’s overall performance in engaging the community and addresses nine key service areas - several of them hot topics in the district from time to time.

Relative to other shires in the state, Mansfield scored highly on economic development, the appearance of public areas and on enforcement of local laws.

And 84 per cent of respondents regarded its involvement in advocacy and community representation as adequate to excellent.

But Mansfield rated less well on recreational facilities, where 68 per cent regarded the facilities as adequate or better, compared to the state mean of 82 per cent.

Similarly waste management was deemed to be below par, 75 per cent to other councils’ 82 per cent.

Predictably, perhaps, many respondents thought council’s management of local roads and footpaths - maintenance, resurfacing and roadside slashing - needed improvement, with its performance on this measure falling below that of other councils in the state (55 to 60 per cent).

In health and human services and recreational facilities there has been a small but steady decline over the years the survey has been conducted.

A hefty 50 per cent of respondents maintained improved childcare facilities were required and 45 per cent said better sporting complexes should be available.

Shire chief executive officer, David Roff, said some scores in the survey can be affected by one-off events, for example during the 2006/07 fires the score for advocacy improved significantly.

"The survey is a useful tool for monitoring council’s performance, but needs to be considered in the light of actions being taken by council," Mr Roff said.

He said he was hoping the current poor waste management score would improve with the rollout of further bins throughout the shire, meaning all properties that can be serviced will now be provided with waste collection.

To view the survey go to www.mansfield.vic.gov.au.