Far North residents rate council services higher, rates and roads still concern

Overall satisfaction with the Far North District Council has improved. Photo / Peter de Graaf

Satisfaction with the Far North District Council has improved over the past year, overall approval up by 11% to 29%, according to the latest Residents’ Survey.

The survey highlights progress in services, infrastructure and value for money and also points to areas residents want the council to continue improving.

FNDC CEO Guy Holroyd said the increase showed their efforts were having an impact but acknowledged that more needed to be done.

While satisfaction rose to 29%, more than 70% of residents were neutral, dissatisfied or very dissatisfied.

The research was conducted by independent Tauranga-based company Key Research and run in four rounds between September 2024 and June 2025. More than 390 Far North residents were randomly chosen from the Electoral Roll

“We acknowledge that the council has significant work to do to further increase community satisfaction with its overall performance,” Holroyd said.

“However, the 11% year-on-year increase revealed by this survey demonstrates our focus on improving customer service, productivity and overall efficiency is having an impact. Examples of those improvements include the number of customers whose queries got resolved at the counter each month. These lifted from around 60% in 2023-24 to 90% and above during 2024-25. At the same time, wait-times for customers calling our 0800 number fell to under 30 seconds on average – down from 1 minute 30 previously."

With 19% of residents satisfied with the council’s financial management, Holroyd said they welcome external scrutiny of their operations and added that their finances are independently audited annually.

“The benchmarking report shows that FNDC has achieved balanced budgets and demonstrates prudent financial management. Credit rating agency Fitch gave FNDC an AA credit rating, which is recognised by the Department of Internal Affairs.”

He said the council was focused on further improving services for residents across all operations.

“The survey has reinforced our ongoing efforts to create a workplace culture focused on customer experience. The council must be easy to deal with. It must be an organisation that responds quickly and clearly and provides customers what they need before being asked.”

While overall satisfaction had improved, many residents remained neutral or dissatisfied, particularly around rates, roading and financial management.

Services, including public libraries, refuse collection and recycling stations received strong satisfaction.

“We continue to work to improve the accessibility of publicly available information across all channels and ‘shine a light’ into the work the council delivers on behalf of its communities. We will also continue to support local newspapers by booking regular full-page adverts to promote our activities.”

“The council will continue to focus on improving customer experience, service delivery, and overall efficiency in the delivery of all its activities, including progressing asset divestment options to reduce costs and ongoing review into the organisation’s output. This focus is weighed against the need to manage council operations within existing budgets and ensuring rates increases are minimised as much as possible without reducing key services.”

Holroyd also highlighted that while residents are generally positive about the quality of life in the district, concerns remain around rates, roading, and communication. The council plans to address these issues by refining service delivery, investing in transport infrastructure, and expanding ways for residents to access information and provide feedback.