Stratford Library and Visitor Information Centre users are some of the happiest in the country with the service they’ve received, according to Stratford District Council’s (SDC) annual residents’ survey.

Survey results were presented to elected members this week showing 97% of users satisfied with the library activities and 96% satisfied with visitor information services.

Chief Executive Sven Hanne says, “Despite the interruptions to our community over the last year, and in particular to our facilities while public health measures have been in place, we’re really pleased to see residents happy with the services we’re providing at our Library and Visitor Information Centre.”

Parks and walkways were also perceived well by residents, with 92% satisfied with these facilities. “Our team puts a lot of effort into providing both beautiful and practical outdoor spaces for our residents and visitors to enjoy and be proud of, and this is a testament to that,” says Mr Hanne.

“Our customer service team were the next highest with 85% of respondents happy with the way staff handle a request or enquiry, matching results from a recent survey by ALGIM, which placed SDC 9th out of 78 councils,” he says.

Key Research who carried out the annual residents’ survey on behalf of SDC told elected members that these were some of the best scores for services they’ve seen this year. A benchmarking report with results across other local authorities will be available in September, and Key Research shared preliminary results showing SDC in good stead with other councils across the country.

Mr Hanne says it’s important for Council to know how Stratford District residents feel about our performance and the way we deliver our many services and activities. “One of the ways we do this is to undertake annual customer satisfaction surveys – to look at what we do well, and where we need to make improvements,” he says.

“This is the first year we’ve used an external research agency to conduct the survey and it’s a step forward in Council’s commitment to using good customer data to measure and improve service delivery. We’re really excited to see how we can build on these results year on year,” says Mr Hanne.

The new survey expands on what SDC has asked residents in previous years, focusing on overall reputation, whether the district is heading in the right direction and value for money.

Almost seven in ten respondents (69%) were satisfied overall with council’s performance, with the majority of respondents agreeing that Stratford is an attractive (77%), safe (77%), and healthy (81%) place to live.

It’s not surprising that one of the key areas of improvement is across Roading, with 10% of respondents mentioning “potholes” as an issue. Mr Hanne says, “while we know a number of these concerns are across state highways controlled by Waka Kotahi, we’re also working hard on improving the quality of our urban and rural roading network and welcome our residents to let us know of areas requiring attention.”

“An easy way to do that is by reporting an issue via the Antenno App, available to download for free on all smartphones,” says Mr Hanne.

The full report is available to view on our website stratford.govt.nz

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