Satisfaction with social infrastructure continues to grow

Dunedin (Monday, 5 October 2015) – Resident satisfaction with Dunedin City Council's social infrastructure continues to grow according to the results of the 2015 Residents' Opinion Survey released today.

Results of the survey show an increase in satisfaction with a wide range of general and recreational facilities including: Forsyth Barr Stadium (up 5% to 83%); the Ice Stadium (up 11% to 82); Dunedin’s Chinese Garden (up 4% to 73%); and winter sports fields (up 7% to 81%).

Satisfaction was highest with the Dunedin Botanic Garden, Toitū Otago Settlers Museum, Dunedin Public Libraries and rubbish collection – with satisfaction scores of more than 90% in these areas.

Mayor of Dunedin Dave Cull says, "These results reinforce the range and quality of facilities our community enjoys. If Council wants to help make Dunedin an attractive place to live, work, study and visit then modest investment in our social infrastructure is necessary. The survey results show that we are getting that balance right."

Mr Cull says it is also encouraging to see a boost in residents' satisfaction with economic development and promotion this year.

"This is an area where the Council has been putting in a concerted effort. Residents consistently rate economic development as the city’s top priority and while there is still work to be done, we’re delivering a little bit more on that each year.”

Results of the survey also show 50% of respondents were satisfied or very satisfied with the DCC's overall performance. This is down on last year's record of 58%. However a result of 50% or above has been maintained for the past three years, well above the results in the five years prior to 2012/13.

Many of the downward movements in individual results are related to communications.

Dunedin City Council General Manager Services and Development Simon Pickford says, “The survey period coincided with the recovery from the June floods and it seems the difficulty many people had in communicating with us during that event affected the overall result. For example, satisfaction with our contact centre increased by 9% last year, only to fall 13% this year. We haven’t changed our service levels, but they were definitely challenged by demands of the flooding.

"We have learned from this and put appropriate measures and plans in place to ensure better communication with the community during future events."

There was also a 3% dip in satisfaction around storm water collection.

"While resident satisfaction with individual activities and facilities tends to go up or down a little bit each year, it is pleasing to see that the majority have been trending upwards over the past several years," Mr Pickford says.

"We will use feedback from the survey to identify areas where we can improve the delivery of services and facilities to the community."

Of 4,500 residents randomly selected from the electoral roll and invited to complete the survey, 1,122 did so – a response rate of 25%, with four out of five responses made online, the highest proportion ever. A further 485 residents independently chose to complete the survey online. The results of the ‘opt-in’ sample are analysed separately but still provide the DCC with valuable feedback about how it can improve its services.

The survey was carried out in late June and July 2015 by independent research company Versus Research, of Hamilton.

A report with the full results and detailed information on how the survey was conducted is available at www.dunedin.govt.nz/ros.

ENDS

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