Satisfaction survey begins

A SIX-week community satisfaction survey has begun to help the City of Ballarat understand the experiences of the community.

Some residents will receive a phone call between now and mid-March from independent market research agency, National Field Services.

Similar surveys will take place across Victoria as part of the mandatory Local Government Performance Reporting Framework.

The aim of the survey is to ensure the City of Ballarat is operating with transparency and accountability, and to help improve services.

“Our new councillor group has been elected to represent the people, so it’s critical we know the ways we can make our services better and more effective,” said mayor Cr Tracey Hargreaves.

“Council is passionate about moving the dial on community satisfaction.

“This survey is one way of helping us to determine how well we are working with and for our community and where we can make some improvements.”

The process will involve interviewing 400 residents from a representative sample about topics such as overall performance, value for money, community consultation, making community decisions, sealed local roads, waste management, customer service and overall council direction.

There will also be two open ended questions about what council needs to do to improve overall performance customer service.

All responses are confidential, and the results will be published mid-year.