Satisfaction with Surf Coast roads hits record low

COMMUNITY satisfaction with the condition of roads across the Surf Coast Shire has dropped to an all-time low, with Winchelsea Ward residents reporting the lowest satisfaction levels.

The data, captured in this year’s Local Government Community Satisfaction Survey (CSS), shows perceptions of the shire’s sealed roads has plunged to a score of 52, out of a possible 100, down from 57 the previous year.

Satisfaction with the shire’s management of unsealed roads – which account for about 44 per cent of network overseen by the council – has also dropped two points, reaching a score of 46, the council’s equal lowest on this measure in the past decade.

It follows a review into the unsealed road network, conducted by the shire last year, which saw the council endorse a plan to increase the rate at which unsealed roads are graded, and comes as the budget for the next financial year is finalised, with several road upgrades receiving funding under the capital works program.

But declining community satisfaction is a familiar theme for the shire across the CSS’s nine core measures this year, with only the council’s overall direction and performance on community consultation posting improvements on last year’s results, both rising two points to 47 and 54, respectively.

Meanwhile, its scores on customer service, value for money and waste management have all seen small declines, despite both customer service (down one point to 70) and waste management (down three points to 70) continuing to be top performing measures for the council, when compared with the state-wide average, which for both measures sits in the low-to-mid-60s.

Indeed, the shire continues to rate significantly higher than other large rural councils across the state, and state-wide averages, on almost all CSS measures, most notably on perceptions of its overall performance.

While unchanged, at 57, from last year, its sits well above that of the other two groups, at 50 and 53, respectively.

The shire’s score on community decisions (52), is also unchanged from last year.

Cr Tony Phelps said the CSS helped the shire track its progress across the survey’s core measures and determine areas for focus and improvement.

“We aim to be a high performing council, and this is a good way to get a snapshot of how our ratepayers think we’re going,” he said.

“The responses suggest our performance is well ahead of the average Victorian council, but there’s room to improve and we’re still striving to get better.

“While it gives us good insight, it’s important to note that this survey is one of several ways we evaluate our performance to decide our priority focus areas.”

The CSS is conducted annually by the Victorian government and this year surveyed 600 Surf Coast resident and non-resident ratepayers.

For the full results from the survey, head to surfcoast.vic.gov.au