The proportion of respondents who wanted the council to "do more" was significantly larger than the proportion wanting it to "do less", the survey showed.
Solid results were also recorded for people who wanted the council to "do about the same as now".
The unscientific survey was carried out ahead of budgets being shaped for the draft 2025-34 long-term plan.
The council ran a slimmed-down early-engagement process this year and its online survey had 138 responses, compared with 859 survey responses a year earlier.
Early engagement is intended to give the council a steer about community sentiment and budgeting priorities before it produces the draft planning document for public consultation next year.
On average, 47% of survey respondents wanted the council to do more, 31% about the same as now and 15% wanted it to do less.
Doing more would force up rates, which is a revenue source already strained by maintenance of existing service levels, cost pressures and interest on debt.
The council approved a 17.5% rates rise for the 2024-25 year, which included increased funding for maintenance or replacement of ageing infrastructure and introduction of a revamped kerbside collection service of rubbish and recycling.
It is also running a multimillion-dollar deficit this year.
Detailed budgeting information for the draft 2025-34 long-term plan is expected to come before councillors in late January next year.
The council had sought to indicate to the community fiscal challenges needed to be faced.
The Dunedin context was "typified by the acknowledgement of balancing challenges and constraints with the ambitions held" for the city, the council said in its agenda for a meeting starting today.
In two categories out of six, most survey respondents wanted the council to do more, either by a bit or a lot.
Roads, water and waste services received the highest score for "do more" (85, or 62%), followed by environment and sustainability (76, or 55%).
Social and community wellbeing also had a majority for the combined bloc of "do a bit more than now" and "do a lot more" if "I don’t know or no answer" was removed from the equation.
The libraries, arts and culture grouping was the only one that had "do about the same as now" exceeding the "do more" bloc.
It also had the highest combined bloc for "do a bit less than now" and "do a lot less".
An "I want councillors to know" panel received 75 comments.
Twelve of them expressed dissatisfaction with the level of rates and 10 asked for a reduction of spending or debt, the council said.
