Satisfaction levels were highest for libraries and lowest for roads, footpaths, information, and knowing about the District Plan. Photo / file
Satisfaction levels were highest for libraries and lowest for roads, footpaths, information, and knowing about the District Plan. Photo / file
A residents' survey has painting an unflattering picture of the Far North District Council with just 31 per cent saying they are satisfied with its overall performance.
That's a sharp drop from last year's 38 per cent but better than the 2017 result of 24 per cent.
There were similardrops for the council's reputation (from 33 per cent in 2018 to to 27 per cent this year), trustworthiness (29 to 22 per cent) and overall quality of services and facilities (35 to 30 per cent).
Other measures were unchanged or within the 4 per cent margin of error, such as value for money (31 to 29 per cent) and vision (25 per cent).
The drop in satisfaction levels had staff scratching their heads when the figures were presented at the last council meeting before the local government elections.
A report by communications manager Richard Edmondson said it was hard to account for the drop over the past year because the council had not reduced service levels or made changes that might have led to widespread dissatisfaction.
Data reliability could be a factor, he said. While the overall sample size was 500 respondents, only small numbers answered certain questions — just 17, for example, were surveyed about Kaikohe's pool.
Timing may have also played a part with this year's survey carried out two weeks after the council's rates demands were sent out.
The council had also been the subject of a spate of negative news stories in the months before the survey.
While the council's 27 per cent reputation score was ''unacceptably low'' it was in line with a national result of 28 per cent from a Local Government NZ survey, Edmondson said.
Satisfaction levels were highest for libraries, such as Kerikeri's Procter Library, and lowest for roads, footpaths, information, and knowing about the District Plan. Photo / file
Councillor Dave Hookway described the survey as ''fairly damning''.
''We've declined in every category since last year, and last year was pretty bad. It's a real concern.''
Mayor John Carter counselled against presenting the report in a ''negative fashion''.
''There's a lot of very positive things going on at council. We all accept there are areas where we need to do better.''
Kaikohe-Hokianga Community Board member Mike Edmonds said public surveys were a measure of the ratio of expectations versus performance.
If people were given more objective information — instead of the ''spin'' they were given now — their expectations would be more realistic, he said.
Edmondson said council staff would look at conducting the survey differently next year because it wasn't clear whether a landline-based annual survey was the best way to get accurate results.
Respondents were also asked to rank various council services and facilities.
Public libraries came out best with 93 per cent satisfied or very satisfied, followed by community recycling stations (82 per cent), Kawakawa pool (81 per cent), wastewater and cemeteries (both 80 per cent).
At the bottom of the heap were being informed about the District Plan (18 per cent), being informed about what the council is doing (28 per cent), footpaths (35 per cent) and local roads (37 per cent).
