Geelong’s council rates below average in 2018, a new survey has revealed.
But it’s better on numerous performance measures than under state-appointed administrators in 2017, according to the Victorian Government survey of satisfaction with councils.
The government’s statewide poll gave Geelong an overall score of 54, four points below the regional average and similar to last year’s result.
City Hall leaders focussed on the survey’s improved scores for community consultation, advocacy, decision-making, and overall council direction.
“The City has experienced a significant amount of change in recent years, with a strong emphasis on transformation,” said new chief executive officer Martin Cutter.
“The return of council has seen a predicted increase in the areas of ‘advocacy’ and ‘making community decisions’, and I would expect the extensive consultation we completed as part of our engagement with 16,000 people to create the Clever and Creative community-led vision has positively impacted our result for ‘community consultation’.
“It’s pleasing to see improvement on the majority of last year’s performance measures, and a key focus for the coming 12 months will be continuing to build on these results.”
Mayor Bruce Harwood, who was a member of the council sacked in 2016 before he his re-election in November, noted the improvement on certain scores under the administrators.
“Council is always conscious of its community image and wants to make sure the City is viewed in the best light possible,” he said.
“While there’s still work to do, it’s encouraging to see an uplift in our scores for ‘advocacy’, ‘community consultation’, ‘overall council direction’ and ‘making community decisions’. We’ll continue to engage with the community and respond accordingly.”
The government commissioned an independent research agency to conduct the statewide study, which phone-polled 400 respondents in greater Geelong between 1 February and 30 March.
Eighty per cent rated council’s overall performance as average or above.
City Hall earned its best rating for customer service, although the 2018 score of 70 was down on 2017’s 74. Eighty-eight per cent of the respondents rated the council’s services average or above.
Council’s worst result was for sealed local roads, with its score of 49 up two on 2017.
