A higher number of people than ever believe Council's overall performance has improved in the preceding 12 month period, according to the Annual Community Survey (13.4% – a 4.8% increase from last year's survey). The report was presented at Tuesday night's Ordinary Council Meeting.
Nillumbik residents are satisfied with the green waste collection program, environmental activities, libraries, sport ovals, cultural events and services for children aged under five, too.
Mayor Karen Egan said Council will take all of the feedback on board.
"The survey results reinforce what we know – that traffic management, bushfire prevention, roads, planning and rubbish are important issues for the community," Cr Egan said.
"When I was elected mayor, I said I'd put a strong focus back on rural areas of the Shire, and these results show we're delivering on that promise.
"We're pleased to see so many services ranked highly by our constituents, but we recognise there is more work to be done in some areas.
"The 2019-2020 budget addresses several areas highlighted in the results, such as provisions for the maintenance of street trees and drainage, and footpath construction and renewal. We've also allocated $9.3 million to road projects, including the Traffic Improvement Program."
Residents' satisfaction with Council's responsiveness to community needs, representation, lobbying, advocacy and community consultation all recorded higher results than the metropolitan Melbourne average.
Rural residents are more satisfied with Council than the municipal average, with satisfaction in the rural parts of the Shire increasing by 11.9 per cent this survey.
The data also reveals respondents are pleased with the perception of safety within Nillumbik – particularly during the day – with an 8.94 rating out of 10 (compared to metropolitan Melbourne's 8.15).
Council is committed to focusing on areas where the community sought higher levels of satisfaction, including litter collection in public areas, public toilets, provision and maintenance of street trees, local traffic management, the grading of unsealed roads and the maintenance and repair of local sealed roads, footpaths and drains.
The annual survey is conducted by Metropolis Research. In January, 500 randomly selected residents – including 100 from the rural precinct – took part in face-to-face interviews.
