Council
5 August, 2024
Survey results show slight change
The release of the annual Community Satisfaction Survey (CSS) showed residents of Yarriambiack Shire only a slight decline in their opinion of council’s service areas, with roads still the number one stand-out issue across the board.
Despite a decline in opinion points in all areas except Customer Service, Waste Management, and Consultation and Engagement, Yarriambiack maintains a higher or equal score in the majority of statewide and small-rural average scores.
"We are on par with last year's results,” Yarriambiack Shire mayor Kylie Zanker said.
“And we have scored higher than other councils around us, which is great to see.”
The opinion of the 400 residents randomly selected to participate in the survey has dropped by one point in Overall Council Performance (58), Overall Council Direction (47), Value for Money (51), and Community Decisions (56).
All four of these areas maintain their position above the 2024 statewide and small-rural average scores, but sadly, Waste Management (63), Elderly Support Services (63), and Sealed Local Roads have fallen behind.
Waste Management has shown signs of improvement, scoring one point higher than last year, but is still four points short of both the statewide and small-rural scores (both at 67).
Elderly Support Services have dropped two points on last year’s results, and are now on par with the statewide average and two points behind the small-rural average.
The lowest satisfaction score in the survey was for Roads, something Cr Zanker said was not unexpected, and was reflected in the small-rural and statewide survey results too.
Sealed Local Roads have been awarded the lowest satisfaction score in Yarriambiack’s surveys for the past nine years.
This year, the score has reached a record low of only 33 points - eight points behind the small-rural council score and 12 points behind the statewide score.
"It's understandable, and roads are always a challenge,” Cr Zanker said.
"We know our roads aren't the best."
The problem is not likely to resolve quickly with the recent drop of the federal government’s Local Roads and Community Infrastructure (LRCI) program, and Yarriambiack only being awarded at 46.7 per cent increase in their Roads to Recovery funding.
This year, council introduced an additional question to determine which roads the surveyed residents felt were most in need of attention.
Henty Highway, Horsham Minyip Road, and Warracknabeal Birchip Road were of most concern to the respondents.
Yarriambiack has retained its above-average scores against both the statewide and small-rural scores for the shire’s Recreational Facilities (69), Business and Community Development and Tourism (61), Consultation and Engagement (58), Community Decisions (56), and Lobbying (54).
Read the full report and results of the survey on Yarriambiack Shire Council’s website at www.yarriambiack.vic.gov.au/Home/Tabs/Latest-News/Community-Satisfaction-Survey-2024
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