ASHBURTON DISTRICT COUNCIL – MEDIA STATEMENT Residents Happier with Way Rates are Spent While resident satisfaction with most areas of Council service recorded very similar results to last year a seven per cent increase in satisfaction with how rates are spent is the highlight of the survey report. Council chief executive, Brian Lester says this shows the Council is going in the right direction and that overall residents recognise the value in the services provided. “Resident satisfaction with the way rates are spent is really the key indicator we look at overall,” said Mr Lester. In total the Council met or exceeded target levels of resident satisfaction in seventeen of twenty-nine annual reporting measures. Of the measures that didn’t make the target 3 were just one or two percentage below the mark. “We have set some pretty ambitious performance targets and most of the results are very pleasing,” said Mr Lester. Comparisons with other similar councils in New Zealand and with all councils both show Ashburton District Council to be performing well in many areas of service. When compared to similar councils Ashburton District Council exceeded the average in thirteen of twenty-two activities and against all councils in the country exceeded the average in twelve of twenty-two. Mr Lester says he and his management team will now look to focus on improvements to some key areas of Council business in a bid to lift overall satisfaction. “We have recognised we have a small number of services we provide where we really need to lift our game,” said Mr Lester. One key area is the district’s road network with resident satisfaction remaining at last years figure of 56 per cent. The Council’s target satisfaction level is 80 per cent. “We are putting additional rate funding into our roads in the coming year and particularly into rural roads the district,” said Mr Lester. Lester says it is frustrating that a lack of government funding in recent years has meant the district’s roads were sometimes not to the standard residents expect. “We are a growing district and changes in land use are changing the amount and type of traffic on many of our roads, with rural roads in particular being required to carry traffic they are not designed to take,” he said. “We need a road funding approach that can cater for the changes we are seeing,” he added. Other services that will require additional focus are footpaths and rubbish and recycling collection. “Footpaths are likely to remain a challenge in the short-term with the broadband rollout continuing,” said Mr Lester. Rubbish and recycling collection is another area that will be looked at closely in the coming year. Activities where Ashburton District Council performed well above other councils include wastewater, refuse disposal facilities, business promotion, town planning and consultation. Link to Annual Residents Survey 2013 - > ashburtondc.govt.nz/NR/rdonlyres/8EF5CC3D-3C5F-4AD7-9BBA-A6D62D7F1CB2/85200/FinalSummaryReport130709.pdf
Posted on: Mon, 29 Jul 2013 10:46:18 +0000
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