Andrew Simms said measures about perception in a Dunedin City Council residents’ opinion survey were of grave concern, as all nine had declined since 2019.
"Ōtepoti Dunedin is a thriving city" is one that dropped from 59% satisfaction that year to 39% in the latest survey, while the slide from others was less dramatic.
"Perception is everything, as this affects our ability to attract and retain people and business to our city," Mr Simms said.
"The downward trend in perception must be arrested if Dunedin is to thrive in the future."
The highest level of agreement in the latest survey was for "Ōtepoti Dunedin maintains and preserves its architectural heritage" at 73%, although this was still down from 84% in 2019.
It was stated in the survey report satisfaction levels in the 12 months to June this year were generally consistent with the previous year, other than perception of Dunedin as a safe city, which fell from 66% last year to 61%.
The Otago Daily Times asked mayoralty candidates what stood out to them about the survey results.
Lync Aronson said Dunedin residents wanted a council that could manage its finances responsibly without sacrificing popular services, such as looking after parks.
The council needed to increase its revenue from sources other than rates, he said.
Mr Simms - as well as Cr Sophie Barker - noted dissatisfaction about the performance of the mayor and councillors (33%) was now higher than satisfaction (30%).
This "reflects much of what I am hearing in the community about a lack of trust in the council, a disconnect between the council and community and disappointment from many sectors of the community in the performance of the DCC over the past two terms", Mr Simms said.
Cr Barker said the council was achieving more of its key performance indicators, improving from 39% to 46%.
Satisfaction about roading and the appearance of the central city retail area had improved.
However, Cr Barker described a "worrying underbelly of dissatisfaction growth".
"This absolutely needs to be paid attention to," she said.
Cr Barker highlighted dissatisfaction about economic development support went from 21% last year to 27% this time.
Cr Lee Vandervis said satisfaction about the performance of the mayor and councillors was at a dismal level.
Cr Carmen Houlahan observed it had at least improved slightly from 29% last year to 30% and she said "in general, people enjoy our facilities".
Pamela Taylor said the survey showed just 35% of residents were satisfied they were getting value for money.
"While satisfaction with parks, cultural facilities and waste management remains strong, concerns about rates, infrastructure and transparency persist."
Dunedin Mayor Jules Radich noted concern about rising rates and debt.
"Rates and debt are important - they provide the mechanism through which we can invest in the areas our residents want us to spend money on - but we need to manage this carefully to balance competing priorities."
The survey results "send a clear message that we are on the right track, but there’s always more to do", he said.
"It’s also great to see our city’s cultural and creative facilities, together with our recreational and sporting and our green spaces - including our wonderful Dunedin Botanic Garden - once again recognised for the value they deliver to our community."
Council chief executive Sandy Graham said the survey provided a snapshot of public sentiment.
"Staff will continue to deliver the best possible services and facilities, based on the direction set by council, as we all work to make our city a fantastic place to live for everyone," she said.
"It’s especially pleasing to see a good percentage of our residents consider Dunedin to be a great place to live, and that, overall, residents see we’re doing well in many of the areas they consider to be of most importance."
The latest survey, by GravitasOPG, attracted 1349 responses in the 12 months to June this year.
The results had a maximum margin of error of plus or minus 2.7% at the 95% confidence interval.
