Waipā residents’ perception of the council is up three per cent on last year but still lower than previous years.
Twenty-two per cent of the 485 residents surveyed said they were satisfied with the council’s overall performance with roading infrastructure the major concern.
Residents over 65 were more likely to be satisfied with the council’s overall performance than younger residents, the Key Research survey found.
Of those who responded 54 per cent heard or saw information about the council through articles in the newspaper, well ahead of the 37 per cent through social media and 26 per cent through the council’s website.
One person surveyed said: “I’ve never lived anywhere where the council is so opaque. Hard to contact, hard to understand what’s going on, don’t communicate any vision.”
Another gave the thumbs up to councillors.
“It’s not an easy job and we’re fortunate to have great people put their hand up.”
In Cambridge work done roads, footpaths and cycleways – a subject of significant debate – was given a higher rating than in any other community, albeit a 23 per cent satisfaction rate, and the availability of cycleways was given the thumbs up by 43 per cent of respondents.
“I am really satisfied with the bike lanes, but I wish that the council wasted less money changing the flowers every second week in Cambridge,” said one respondent.
“Too much spent on nice to have such as bicycle paths and walking areas. Too much on PC consulting. Needs to concentrate on essentials such as roads and services,” said another.
The number of sceptics has gone down from 54 per cent last year to half while 38 per cent say they are champions.
“Although sceptics still comprise the largest proportion of residents, their numbers have declined, indicating an improved perception towards the council. This trend holds true across all ethnicities, with Māori residents more likely to be identified as champions (41%),” the Tauranga-based survey company says.
Younger residents between 18 and 29 do not value or recognise the council’s performance, harbour doubts and have a lack of trust.
Read the full report here.
The survey suggests connecting with these younger residents using fact-based information was crucial to shifting their perspective towards council.
Just over half of the residents said they felt proud to be living in the district – one per cent down on last year – with Cambridge residents showing a significantly higher level of pride with Pirongia the lowest.
The role of community boards was to act as an advocate for the community, 53 per cent of respondents said – but 31 per cent said they were unaware of the boards’ purpose.
Clare St Pierre
Satisfaction with their performance was lowest in Maungatautari and Te Awamutu.
Of the respondents, 51 per cent were female,47 per cent male and one per cent gender diverse. Eighty-eight per cent were ratepayers while 71 per cent had lived in the district for more than 10 years.
Cambridge accounted for 37 per cent of the respondents, Te Awamutu 29, Pirongia 16, Kakepuku 10 and Maungatautari nine per cent.
It is the eighth year Waipā has undertaken the perception survey. Questions were asked in four waves to remove bias while the quality of life is still high with community spirit increasing.
Susan O’Regan
At a workshop this week, Cr Clare St Pierre said it was a pleasure to read the survey. “I really appreciate the work councillors and staff have put in particularly the improvement that has been seen.”
It was a great endorsement of the mayor Susan O’Regan, she said.
O’Regan was disappointed by the decrease in satisfaction among youth but saw positives in the report.
“…it is about trends, so let’s not get too excited until we see some sustained improvement. There’s still a lot more work to do but it starts with one,” said O’Regan.
Read the council workshop powerpoint
