A survey asking West Tamar Council residents to give their opinion on the council's performance has revealed a significant drop in ratepayer satisfaction.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The 2022 residents opinion survey was conducted online between July 25 and September 5 via Social Pinpoint.
The mostly online audience captured a different demographic to previous surveys, as well as a much lower response rate, which showed in the results with the average satisfaction rate for the 38 service opinions of 53.72 per cent compared with 82.32 per cent in 2020.
The result for Opinion 38 'Council's performance overall' was 54.80 per cent, much lower than 2020's 88.75 per cent.
The survey also showed satisfaction with 'the level of rates compared to services received', was 30.20 per cent, down from 64.99 per cent (2020).
According to the West Tamar Council agenda, the differentiation in satisfaction rates can't solely be contributed to the change from paper to online surveys.
According to the council, many of this year's respondents also chose to answer 'no opinion' or 'not applicable/available', rather than 'satisfied' or 'dissatisfied'.
Feedback from the survey indicated that residents weren't satisfied with the format of the survey and would prefer more options and opportunities to explain their answers.
General manager of West Tamar Council, Ralph Vos, said the survey, which contained 38 questions, was unchanged from the survey council did in 2020.
"It is possible that ratepayers felt less satisfied with council at this time of year due to the setting of the budget and a rates increase in June," Mr Vos said.
Mr Vos said all feedback from the community was valuable, and monitoring changes in the survey results provided staff an opportunity to seek to improve performance where applicable.
"We will need to reassess how we run the residents' opinion survey in the future given the feedback around the responses and lower response rate compared to previous years," he said.
Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can continue to access our trusted content:
- Bookmark www.examiner.com.au
- Make sure you are signed up for our breaking and regular headlines newsletters
- Follow us on Twitter: @examineronline
- Follow us on Instagram: @examineronline
- Follow us on Google News: The Examiner
Satria Dyer-Darmawan
Satria Dyer-Darmawan is a journalist for The Examiner and considers himself to be an all rounder. Originally from the Central Coast of NSW, Satria has worked in Alice Springs and North Queensland and isn't afraid to immerse himself in regional communities.
Satria Dyer-Darmawan is a journalist for The Examiner and considers himself to be an all rounder. Originally from the Central Coast of NSW, Satria has worked in Alice Springs and North Queensland and isn't afraid to immerse himself in regional communities.
