By Cr Sarah Carter
While recognising there is still room for improvement, it is certainly pleasing to see a more positive shift in sentiment towards council’s activities in the latest Community Survey.
Not only did the 2022 results include the lowest number of dissatisfied residents on record, but the majority also expressed increasing satisfaction with the 39 services and facilities council delivers on behalf of its community.
It is not lost on us that the services and facilities you have told us are most important are also the ones you are most satisfied with.
This includes libraries, waste and recycling services, playgrounds, and community centres and neighbourhoods.
Maribyrnong Aquatic Centre also rated measurably higher than the average of 7.30 (or very good) for the first time, which is also good to see.
That said, we know we have work to do to increase our community satisfaction with road and footpath maintenance and repairs in particular, which were again among the top three issues identified, along with traffic management and car parking.
These were also among the areas, along with sustainability and the environment, respondents indicated in this recent survey they would likely support increased funding for, if it would lead to an improvement in service delivery.
Recognising the ongoing challenges in balancing revenue against expenses, it is heartening to see a greater understanding and appreciation from our community of the need for council to be appropriately funded if it is to deliver the services the community is asking of us, at a level that meets their needs.
This is particularly important feedback, and we hope to be able to continue and expand on this conversation during engagement on the proposed budget for 2023/24, which will be released for comment in April.
Three years on from the onset of the pandemic, it is also worth recognising the way our community continues to bounce back.
On average, households surveyed reported coping better financially, physically and mentally.
We will continue to foster local activations through our ‘Love Your West’ initiative to deliver more festivals, events and activations to provide opportunities for our residents to connect whilst supporting the local trader community.
