In Summary
- Greater Shepparton City Council achieved a solid overall performance score of 60, the fourth highest since 2012, with significant improvements in road conditions and family services.
- Council's overall direction and performance scores were notably higher than the state-wide and other regional councils, despite challenges faced by the community.
- Decreases were observed in waste service satisfaction, attributed to the recent changes in collection frequency, with ongoing efforts in community education and support.
- The survey, conducted with 800 residents, is crucial for understanding community expectations and guiding future service improvements.
Council’s overall performance for 2023/2024 was 60, the fourth highest rating since the inception of the survey in 2012, while overall council direction scored 57 and customer service scored 65.
A total of 16 indicators received higher scores in 2023/2024 compared to the previous financial year, with the largest increase being for the condition of sealed local roads, which increased four points. Maternal and Child Health and Council’s overall family and child care services also saw increases, with both improving by three points.
Council’s Director Corporate Services, Chris Teitzel, said this was a pleasing outcome.
“It is promising to see increases in these areas, particularly the condition of sealed local roads. The 2023/2024 Road Resealing Program saw more than 61 kilometres of road resealed across the region which is a huge effort,” he said.
“Council is continuing to monitor the condition of the region’s roads following the significant weather events we have faced. It is an ongoing job and we appreciate the community’s patience while these repairs are undertaken.”
The 2023/2024 results place Council at the top end of the scale across the state, particularly for overall performance and overall council direction, which scored significantly higher than state-wide and other regional centres.
“It is great to see positive results over the past 12 months, especially when compared to other council’s across the state. Overall performance is six points higher than the average while overall council direction is 12 points higher,” Mr Teitzel said.
“Victorian councils have reported the lowest Community Satisfaction Survey results in 10 years, while Greater Shepparton’s have been relatively stable. Despite this, we do acknowledge the challenges faced by the community over the past 12 months, including the changes to the waste services, which was reflected in the survey results.”
The fortnightly red bin collection and the overall waste services saw the largest decrease over the past 12 months, with the indicator scores sitting at 55 and 61. The fortnightly yellow bin collection also saw a decrease of eight points, to sit at 68 at the end of the financial year.
“We understand these decreases can be attributed to the frequency changes implemented this year. Council is continuing to work through these changes and is assisting residents through ongoing education and support,” he said.
Residents were given a chance to provide their feedback and opinions on the performance of Council via the Community Satisfaction Survey, which was conducted quarterly over the past year by Thinkfield. Thinkfield used Computer Assisted Telephone Interviewing (CATI) as a random probability survey of residents aged 18+ years in Greater Shepparton. They also utilised face-to-face consultation throughout the Shepparton CBD.
A total of 800 residents provided feedback throughout the 12-month period.
Mr Teitzel said the results are important as they allow Council to better understand whether it is meeting community expectations of the services it provides.
“The Community Satisfaction Survey is a great indicator for Council as it helps us gather impressions on all of the services, facilities and activities Council provides. It provides insight into ways Council can improve service delivery, and all of the information gathered is used to provide ongoing improvements for Greater Shepparton,” he said.
“It is good for us to see where the community would like to see improvements, as this helps shape our future direction. We thank everyone who took part in the survey, their feedback is extremely important.”
