11 August 2016

Circular Head Mayor Daryl Quilliam said Council will be undertaking another Community Satisfaction Survey at the end of this month.

This is the second time Council will be conducting the survey, which will help to establish trends and changes in community expectations and demand.

“Following the first survey in 2014 Council has implemented a number of improvements to address the areas the community felt Council needed to improve in,” Mayor Quilliam said.

“By completing the survey later this month, our residents can help ensure that we are keeping on track and can be rest assured that their feedback will be taken on board.”

Respondents in the previous survey rated rubbish and recycling collection, rural sealed roads, roadside management (trees, slashing and litter control), urban roads and the Waste Transfer Station as important.

In terms of positives, respondents praised Council staff, the appearance of townships, recent landscaping improvements, and Council’s communication to the community.

Areas to improve included upgrades and maintenance (particularly roads (especially rural) and vegetation), appearance of townships, attracting new business, more consultation, financial management, building, urban and rural land use planning and environmental health, consistency of information (customer service) and the swimming pool.

Mayor Quilliam said Council continues to prioritise core service provision and has recently adopted the Long Term Financial Plan (LTFP) and Strategic Asset Management Plan (SAMP) to provide it with 10-year strategies to continue achieving this outcome.

“Council has a focus on planned maintenance and improvements to ensure we are providing value for money services,” Mayor Quilliam said.

“When it comes to our focus on the appearance of our townships, Council is in the process of implementing recommendations of the Smithton Landscape Development Plan and will be working to develop both a Stanley and Smithton Central Area Development Plans in this financial year.”

Council continues efforts to both inform and engage with the community.  This includes through regular reporting and advertising in the Circular Head Chronicle which was identified as a preferred method of keeping the community informed.

“The community has also been engaged in the planning for a new pool through the Open Space, Sport and Recreation Plan,” Mayor Quilliam said.

“We have also been working with the other participating Councils as part of the Sustainable Murchison Community Plan with more than 1900 people participating in this process.”

Council will also be implementing a Community Reference Database in the 2016-2017 financial year, to provide greater opportunity to hear the community’s views and to help inform Council’s decision making.

“The organisation underwent an organisational restructure last year, which has seen a more strategic approach to urban and rural land use planning, which is complemented by Council’s involvement in the Statewide Planning Scheme process,” Mayor Quilliam said.

“Management has also initiated a review of business processes and systems in order to implement a system, which better meets customer needs.”

The 2016 Community Satisfaction Survey will be available online via Council’s website at http://www.circularhead.tas.gov.au/yoursay with paper copies available at Council and also sent to a random selection of 1250 households in the Circular Head Municipal Area.

The survey will be undertaken between 29 August and 23 September 2016 by a third party provider to ensure confidentiality, unbiased reporting and full transparency of the results. The results of the survey will be published in late October 2016.