An interesting survey
Local Government NZ have had Colmar Brunton do a large survey of NZ residents and businesses on local government. The initial results aren’t complimentary but it is a smart move by LGNZ to do such research, because it provides a benchmark to try and improve against for their member governments.
Some survey extracts:
– Performance was rated at only 28/100
– Local leadership rated even less at 26/100
– Communication and interaction rated 32/100
The three bottom performance rated areas by the public are:
– Trust to make good spending decisions
– Value for rate dollars spent
– Managing finances
The survey clearly showed that Councils need to learn to live within their means. That rates should stay constant, except for inflation and population. Annual increase of 3% to 10% are antagonizing the public.
The five most important services for the public are:
1 Roads 45%
2 Town facilities and amenities 42%
3 Water supply 30%
4 Rubbish/recycling 26%
5 Sewerage/wastewater 18%
So Councils should focus on the basics above, and do them well. Again, it is a very good initiative by LGNZ in doing this research. LGNZ Chairman Lawrence Yule said “We are taking a proactive approach to listening through this research. It will now be carried out annually and, by repeating this on an annual basis we will track progress towards providing a stronger local government for us all.”
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