Baw Baw Shire Council's 2024 community satisfaction survey results have been made public providing insight into perceptions of service delivery and performance against averages across the Local Government sector.
Each year, Council participates in a community satisfaction survey, conducted by JWS Research on behalf of Local Government Victoria.
Approximately 400 Baw Baw Shire residents were randomly selected to be interviewed via phone on four separate occasions from June 2023 to March 2024.
This year, Council scored 51 on overall performance, which represents a two-point decrease but is consistent with the decreases observed of State and Large Rural groups.
Ratings of most individual service areas for Baw Baw are in line with or significantly higher than average ratings for many rural shires.
Overall council direction was 3 points lower than 2023 with a score of 39 compared to the state-wide score of 45.
Two significant increases were recorded this year with waste receiving a score of 70, which is two points higher than last year's result and three points higher than the state-wide score of 67, and customer service which received a score of 65. This figure is two points higher than in 2023.
Council's lowest score was received in the sealed local roads category, though this downward trend was reflected in most other non-metro areas of the state.
Baw Baw Shire Council has made significant progress in improving road maintenance with Council's spending on road maintenance and capital works equating to approximately one in every five dollars spent, allocated to this critical infrastructure.
The increase in average rainfall seen across Victoria again this year has been a contributing factor to the overall condition of sealed roads across the state, and Baw Baw has not been immune to the associated challenges. Large Rural group averages along with the state average have also shown declines.
Baw Baw Shire Mayor Cr Annmarie McCabe thanked the local residents who took part in the survey and provided their feedback.
"We are always looking at opportunities for improvement here at Baw Baw Shire," Cr McCabe said.
"When residents were asked what the one best thing about Baw Baw Shire Council is, the top three responses included customer service, our parks and gardens and our recreational and sporting facilities.
"When residents were asked what Baw Baw Shire Council most needs to do to improve its performance, the top three responses included sealed road maintenance, financial management and community consultation.
"There is work to be done in local government and Council is committed to working in partnership with our community to ensure Baw Baw Shire remains a great place to live and work."
To view the full 2024 Satisfaction Survey results, visit Community Satisfaction Survey (bawbawshire.vic.gov.au)
