Council performs well in satisfaction survey

The Community Satisfaction Survey, conducted every two years, found 88 per cent of respondents were at least ‘somewhat satisfied’, a comparable result to the last survey in 2016.

Although there was a marginal decrease in the overall satisfaction mean rating since 2016, (3.57 out of a possible 5, compared with 3.68/5), AlburyCity’s satisfaction rating is higher than the results achieved in the “Regional” (3.22/5), “Metro” (3.45/5) and “All of NSW” (3.31/5) Local Government benchmarks achieved by other councils.

AlburyCity Mayor Kevin Mack said it was pleasing to see a positive response.

“This data is invaluable in assessing what we do well and what we could do better,” he said.

“We’ll use the findings to maintain and continue to improve our services and facilities, confident we’re acting in line with the wishes of the community.”

In other survey results:

Overall satisfaction with AlburyCity’s level of communication with the community has remained relatively on par, with 88 per cent of respondents either ‘somewhat satisfied’, ‘satisfied’, or ‘very satisfied’.43% of respondents had contacted Council in the past 12 months, with bin collection and waste management the main reason for that contact.52% were very satisfied with the ease in which they were able to contact Council.Local news and advertising remain the channels that most influence opinions on Council’s performance but they have decreased in significance since 2016, while Facebook has increased significantly.The most-visited facilities were the Botanic Gardens, Albury Airport, Albury parks and the LibraryMuseum.92% of respondents were at least ‘somewhat supportive’ of Albury and Wodonga councils working more closely together under the Two Cities One Community Strategic Plan, with ‘town and event planning/tourism’ being the most suggested items for collaboration.And, long term planning for Albury topped the list of the 13 highest indicators contributing to overall satisfaction with Council.

“Council will now consider a number of key recommendations to build on the results of the report with the aim of making Albury an ever better place to live and work,” Cr Mack said.

“Community input is crucial to enable us to improve on areas that need work and build on our successes, so we thank everybody who took the time to participate in the telephone survey.”