Council has proven its seamless transition into a virtual business model by retaining its level of customer service for the community across its vital services.
Wyndham City Mayor Cr Josh Gilligan said many of Council's services had equal if not more users this April compared to the same time last year, showing a continuity of excellent service through virtual platforms instead of face-to-face.
"Even though the doors of our civic centre doors are closed temporarily, our staff have been working remotely to deliver high-quality customer service," Cr Gilligan said.
"More than 12,000 residents called our customer service team and had no trouble connecting to us via email with a 425 per cent increase in emails being received and a 404 per cent increase in those choosing our webchat service to resolve their queries."
"Some services are still being delivered face to face, such as delivered meals, which has seen an increase of 12 percent from last April, with 2,438 deliveries last month and we were only down 12 patients for our vaccination program this year."
"Even though our maternal and child health service was delivered via telehealth this April, we still received a huge number of consultations, with 3,320 residents using the service, just 242 less than last year when the regular service was operational.
"I was also heartened to see that we offered 54 young people online counselling sessions this year - which was down by only seven compared to this month last year."
"We have seen an expected spike in residents ordering hard waste collections while the refuse disposal facility was closed, with 4,110 booking for collections last month compared to 2,658 for the same time last year."
"Our economic growth team has been a great source of information and support for many local businesses seeking advice on how to access government grants or on what permits are required to open home businesses during this time of change. The team has been in contact with more than 500 businesses and individuals during the month of April to guide them on the right track for business success."
"Our town planning and building department has been operating as usual, although offsite, and have issued 150 planning decisions, completed 255 planning information requests and 10 demolition requests. These figures are almost identical to the figures from April last year. Unsurprisingly, they have also seen an increase in the number of emails and phone calls they received."
"We've never had so much interest in our libraries: Last month we had a 109 per cent increase in new membership compared to last April, with 672 new members. Members can access free e-books, audio books, educational material and online activities for entire family."
"The pausing of our live shows did not stop us hosting our REVEAL exhibition online and we had the biggest attendance to one of our opening nights in Council's history with more than 4,000 people taking a virtual tour of the City's stunning art collection on our new Wyndham Together website."
"The Wyndham Together website, which aims to keep residents in touch with local arts and culture, green living, and exercise and sporting services, has had more than 21,000 visits for the month of April."
