Kiama Council has released the results of its 2020 Community Satisfaction Survey, which shows 70 per cent of residents were satisfied overall with Council’s service delivery and facilities over the past 12 months, despite the changes made necessary due to COVID-19.

“The survey confirms the incredibly high standard of services Council staff and volunteers provide to our community,” says Mayor Mark Honey.

“It shows the high level of appreciation our community has for their efforts.

“To receive this acknowledgement, despite the challenges due to COVID lockdowns and restrictions, makes this all the more satisfying.”

While this overall satisfaction with Kiama Council means it still has the highest overall satisfaction rate of comparable NSW councils, it is a statistically significant decline in the 78 per cent satisfaction level which was achieved when the survey was last done in 2018.

Twenty of the services and facilities measured in the Kiama survey recorded high average satisfaction ratings, while the remaining eight recorded at least medium level average satisfaction.

Of the 17 services and facilities where there are available benchmarks, Kiama Council is outperforming the comparable NSW council average in these services and facilities:

•   Maintenance of public toilets, local roads, bike paths, parks and gardens, footpaths, and rock pools and beaches

•   Services for older people

•   Leisure centre - pool.

"Achieving a high level of satisfaction with our maintenance program is particularly pleasing given our decision to seek a special rate variation to ensure we could keep our facilities, reserves and other infrastructure well looked after," says Cllr Honey.

"I also note an increased satisfaction with our public toilets, following our significant efforts to upgrade our amenities."

Services for youth recorded the lowest average satisfaction score, and was consistently mentioned by respondents as an important area for improvement.

"Our SENTRAL Youth Services team performed magnificently in difficult circumstances in 2020 to support our young residents," says Cllr Honey

"However, this survey confirms the strong feeling in our community that Council should be doing more in this area."

He says the results of the survey will provide a focus for Council in 2021 and beyond.

“Knowing where residents believe we can improve or should shift our focus to is the truly invaluable part of these surveys.

"I know this will guide the work of the current Council, as well as the next Council which will take shape after the local government elections in September."

The survey highlighted areas of high importance and low satisfaction for Council to focus on as:

•   Facilities and services for children and youth

•   Maintenance of stormwater drainage and public toilets

•   Clean-up of street litter and dumped rubbish.

It identified the strengths for it to maintain as:

•   The Pavilion

•   Food and garden organics

•   Maintenance of community halls and civic buildings, rock pools and beaches, and parks and gardens

•   Services for older people

•   Beach lifeguard service.

In responding to what should be Council’s one top priority over the next ten years, the need for more car parking in the centre of Kiama was the clear winner, followed by the need for the need for another supermarket and more shopping facilities.

When asked to name the one issue that concerned them the most, issues to do with over development were mentioned the most.

The survey was conducted by IRIS Research in November, through telephone interviews with 501 residents of the Council area. Quotas ensured a good distribution of responses by age and gender. The full survey results, and those of an online survey, are available here.

In the latter, 308 people went online to complete the same survey.

The results were a sharp contrast, with just 39 per cent of respondents saying they were overall satisfied with Council’s services and facilities compared to the 70 per cent in the telephone survey.

“There is a difference in the results of the online and phone survey given that the online survey is self-selected rather than random,” says Council’s Acting General Manager, Jessica Rippon.

“The online survey is also not demographically representative of the Municipality.

“Whilst the results of the online survey do differ in some areas from the telephone survey, both will equally be used for the future planning and consideration of the performance of the organisation.”