Satisfaction with Maribyrnong council has dropped to its second lowest level in five years, the annual community survey reveals.
The 2016 survey shows the community’s level of satisfaction with the council’s performance slipping from the 2015 average score of 6.64 out of 10 to 6.50, still above the 2014 score of 6.14.
The result corresponds to a good rating and remains above the long-term average of 6.43 since 2004.
The survey, presented to Tuesday night’s council meeting, involved face-to-face interviews with 800 randomly selected households during last August and September.
It found satisfaction increased for 22 of the 34 council services and facilities, but declined for the remaining 12.
Weekly waste services, local libraries and sports ovals were rated as excellent.
But satisfaction with the planning approvals process was generally rated at poor or very poor. The most significant change was a drop in satisfaction with customer service from 7.67 to 7.21.
Respondents were least satisfied with parking enforcement, public toilets, maintenance of Footscray CBD, footpath upkeep and repairs, and traffic management.
People’s perceptions of safety in public areas at night declined from 6.78 to 6.27 across Maribyrnong, sliding from 5.59 to 5.31 in the Footscray CBD.
Satisfaction with council’s efforts in relation to the issues of trucks and freight was rated as ‘poor’, declining from 6.44 to 5.93.
Childcare and services for seniors were the most commonly identified health and community services that could not be adequately accessed locally.
The five most commonly identified issues for Council to address were car parking (19.2 per cent), traffic management (14.1 per cent), building, housing, planning and development (11.8 per cent), parks, gardens, and open space issues (8.3 per cent) and road maintenance and repairs (8 per cent).
Respondents agreed graffiti was a problem, but disagreed that property owners should clean it up. Almost 10 per cent of respondents had no home internet connection, a figure that rose to 20 per cent at Braybrook.
A report on the survey stated that it provides a valuable understanding of community issues, priorities and expectations.
“This knowledge provides a good basis for program and service planning, project priorities and budget allocation.”
