Council & Politics
6 August, 2024
Report card: community opinion improves on Northern Grampians Shire Council
Northern Grampians Shire Council's performance rises slightly.
The community's opinion of the Northern Grampians Shire Council's performance has improved, albeit slightly, according to its annual Community Satisfaction Survey.
The 2024 Local Government Community Satisfaction Survey, conducted by the independent provider JWS Research, gave the council an overall score of 56, up from 54 a year earlier. Its score was better than the state average (54) and small rural councils (53).
The overall score pales in comparison to the neighbouring municipality, Ararat Rural City Council (65), but was vastly higher than the Horsham Rural City Council (43).
The Yarriambiack and West Wimmera councils scored 59, and the Hindmarsh Shire Council received an overall score of 55.
The survey sampled 400 residents within the municipality, representing a cross-section of the council.
Northern Grampians Shire Council mayor Rob Haswell said the data was valuable.
"We get a picture of how we are performing on a statewide basis and compared to other small rural councils," he said.
"We were very pleased with the results, while noting some room for improvement. Our overall performance score improved from last year and exceeded the Small Rural Group average."
The survey results show the NGSC performed better than the other small Victorian rural councils in six of the seven main categories: customer service (68), consultation and engagement (51), community decisions (50), sealed local roads (47), and overall council direction (47).
While the council's most improved category was waste management, which scored 63 in 2024 compared to 59 in 2023, it was still behind the state average of 67.
The survey highlighted the differences in perception between Stawell and St Arnaud residents, with a 15-point difference between the two towns (60 to 45).
Likewise, overall council direction past 12 months received a score of 51 from Stawell residents, but only 36 from those in St Arnaud.
"Council is continuously seeking to effectively engage with individual communities in ways that work for them, on issues that impact their lives," Cr Haswell said.
"We're looking forward to continuing to work with the communities, including St Arnaud on projects such as integrated early years, the St Arnaud pool, and multicultural and youth action."
Across the state, overall local council performanced received a score of 54, down by two points in 2023.