By Matthew Sims
Maribyrnong residents have named public toilets, maintenance and repairing of sealed local roads and footpath maintenance and repairs as areas in need of improvement, as part of the 2022 Annual Community Survey.
At Maribyrnong council’s meeting on Tuesday, March 21, council passed a motion to note the key findings of its 2022 Annual Community Survey.
Services that received scores lower than the average included public toilets (6.57), maintenance and repair of sealed local roads (6.63), and footpath maintenance and repairs (6.72).
However, Maribyrnong residents expressed an overall increase in satisfaction, with 39 services and facilities receiving an average satisfaction rating of 7.30, or ‘very good’.
Services and facilities which scored measurably higher than the average included library services (8.59), fortnightly recycling collection (8.53), weekly garbage collection (8.43), fortnightly green waste collection (8.33), annual hard rubbish collection (8.22) and the Maribyrnong Aquatic Centre (7.94).
Maribyrnong mayor said the shift in sentiment was welcomed, with the survey recording the lowest number of dissatisfied residents on record at 7.6 per cent.
“It is pleasing to see a greater understanding and appreciation from our community generally around the work we are doing,” she said.
“That’s not to say we don’t recognise there is still room for improvement, or other areas where the community would like to see us up our game.
“It is heartening to see a level of understanding and acceptance of the need for council to be funded appropriately to deliver the services the community is asking of us, at a level that meets their needs – recognising also the challenges we face balancing revenue against expenses.”
Traffic management, road maintenance and repairs, and car parking remain the three top issues, with more than half the respondents indicating they would support more spending on these issues.
Maribyrnong councillor Michael Clarke said the survey showed a “wonderful outcome” across a number of key service provision areas.
“This council has worked diligently,” he said.
Overall satisfaction recorded in the 2022 survey dipped slightly for the second year in a row to 6.76, which was below the previous peak three years ago of 6.93, but was above the previous low of 6.11 recorded in 2014, and a 10.6% increase in overall performance since surveying began in 2004.
Details: www.maribyrnong.vic.gov.au/About-us/Our-plans-and-performance/Annual-Community-Survey
