The results are in

Overall resident satisfaction with Toowoomba Regional Council services has been rated 6.4 out of 10 according to the Toowoomba Region Community Survey, completed last year.

Residents viewed Council as performing well in delivering core services and facilities and were most satisfied with household waste collection (84 per cent), waste management centre services (81 per cent), maintenance and management of cemeteries (80 per cent) and library (87 per cent), park, open space and playground (87 per cent) and museum (84 per cent) facilities.

Finance and Business Strategy Chair Geoff McDonald said the survey was commissioned to assess community satisfaction with Council’s performance and identify ways to provide improved or more effective service delivery.

“We’re always interested to know how well we’re performing as a Council and this survey gives us an opportunity to get a gauge of what our residents think,” Cr McDonald said.

“Council’s performance is in-line with other regional councils as well as councils measured by the Local Government Association of Queensland (LGAQ) which is a pleasing result.”

As part of the survey, residents were asked to rate their level of satisfaction in the areas of services, facilities, Council’s Corporate Plan and community engagement.

Results reveal that 58 per cent of residents thought services and facilities provided by Council were value for money.

In addition to this, the data indicated that rural residents were less satisfied (5.8 out of 10) with Council services than urban residents (6.7 out of 10).

Councillor McDonald said the results were generally pleasing and highlighted opportunities for Council to improve on in several key areas.

“While we can take a level of satisfaction from the results, the findings also identify priority areas that we need to and can improve on,” he said.

“Results show that water supply management and infrastructure and road network maintenance were the top priorities for residents.

“Our residents also indicated they would like us to focus on the management of invasive species (plants, animals and weeds), the development assessment approval process and public toilets.

The survey was administered by independent market research consultants IRIS Research last year and involved 802 residents over the age of 18 years being randomly selected to complete the survey via telephone. The sample had a demographic spread across age, gender and location to ensure survey results were representative of the region.

The broader community was also able to complete the survey online via Council’s Your Say website.

Finance and Business Strategy portfolio lead Kerry Shine expressed his appreciation to residents who participated in the survey.

“I would like to thank all community members across the Toowoomba Region for their feedback and participation,” Cr Shine said.

“While the survey results are a valuable tool for gauging our strengths and weaknesses in the eyes of the community, they also allow us to compare our performance with other councils and create a valuable baseline for future surveys.”

The findings from the report were presented earlier today at the Finance and Business Strategy Committee meeting and will be made available on Council’s website.

For more information on the 2019 Toowoomba Region Community Survey, call Council on 131 872 and quote Toowoomba Region Community Survey or email [email protected].