The Local Government Community Satisfaction Survey is an annual state government undertaking designed to measure community satisfaction with council performance.

Hepburn Shire’s overall performance climbed six points from last year to 52 out of 100. But the shire still lags behind other small rural councils in the state, which sit at 56 out of 100. 

Moorabool Shire experienced a two-point improvement overall, to an index score of 56.  

The only local council to go backwards was Central Goldfields Shire, with overall performance index dropping to 43 out of 100, following dismissal of the shire’s councillors in August last year. 

City of Ballarat did not participate in the survey, with their own survey undertaken by the Local Government Research Group to be released in coming weeks. 

City of Ballarat CEO Justine Linley said 803 residents were surveyed this year about major projects and satisfaction with community services.

“Together with a growing number of Councils in Victoria who have opted for meaningful and community-specific survey work, we did not buy into the State Government-facilitated perception survey for the past three years,” she said. 

Golden Plains Shire have not yet released their results, with the full report heading to the council’s ordinary meeting on June 26 before being released to the public. 

Moorabool Shire, which takes in Ballan and Bacchus Marsh, had positive results but faced some criticism of the state of roads.

The council experienced a significant increase in customer service to a score of 70 out of 100, above the average for large rural shires of 67. 

“It was no surprise given the amount of work we’ve done with the 2041 strategy, and that’s urban growth in Bacchus Marsh and small town strategy for the rest of the shire,” Mr Croxford said.

“Our local roads and footpaths do need more investment, if we can get the federal government to continue to increase the Roads to Recovery program.

“Younger people are more satisfied with us than the older demographic, and people in Ballan have had a higher level of satisfaction.

“It just reflects that if you’re working in the communities that people are living and you’re doing good things, it will shine through.”

Hepburn Shire has experienced improvements across all major areas of performance, apart from overall direction, which was one point lower than last year.

Perception of council’s customer service has increased by nine points in the last year, to 68 out of 100. Community satisfaction with sealed local roads had also increased by nine points.

Interim CEO Bruce Lucas said council had focused on improving customer service across the board.

“Over the past year, council has been working hard across all our teams to improve the way we engage with the community, particularly through customer service.”

The shire experienced a severe nine point drop in overall perception to 43, with public opinion diving in areas of consultation and engagement, lobbying and community decisions.

Central Goldfields Shire CEO Lucy Roffey said the results were not surprising given the outcomes of the Municipal Monitor Local Government Inspectorate reports, identifying significant governance failures. 

The council has now created policies around complaint resolution and prevention of fraud and corruption. 

“We’re confident that the implementation of these key policies and strategies, which have been developed in consultation with the community, will improve the decision making and governance of Council resulting in outcomes that align with community aspirations and expectations,” Ms Roffey said.