The latest community survey from the Otago Regional Council shows a greater awareness of its public-facing duties, such as environmental management and public transport, and an 8% increase in public trust in the information provided by the council.
In a statement, the council also highlighted some areas it would focus on over the coming year.
These include delivery of regulatory functions, provision of land information and overall value for ratepayers.
The council had a strong response to the survey, the post to online letters receiving an 11% click-through, well above the 7% anticipated.
Council chairwoman Hilary Calvert thanked residents from across Otago who responded.
"While ORC is engaging in the reform conversations led by central government, we still have important functions to deliver and feedback from the community will help us be the very best council we can be in the time we have left".
"It was heartening to see the level of responses and that in many areas of our work there was an increased awareness or satisfaction levels from the public. Alternately, it’s good to know now that there are some areas where we still have more work to do."
Awareness of the council’s activities have remained high, with strong recognition of the council’s environmental management and public transport roles.
Environmental priorities among respondents included water quality, freshwater supply, air quality, growth management and natural resource preservation.
However, nearly one-quarter of respondents believed all environmental areas should be addressed in the future.
Some respondents also cited explicit local environmental concerns, specifically those in Dunedin City (air quality, thriving ecosystems, community resilience), the Queenstown Lakes district (tourism growth, population pressures), Clutha district (pest management) and Waitaki district (water supply).
Since 2023, respondents’ awareness of the council’s involvement in consent processes, risk reduction initiatives, navigational safety roles and climate change adaptations has increased.
Satisfaction with the council’s delivery of its activities was generally positive, with high satisfaction reported for public transport, harbour safety, port ownership and river management.
Satisfaction levels for some functions, such as regulatory functions, provision of land information and rules for sustainable land use, were slightly lower.
Trust in the information the council provides the community has increased by 8% this year, reaching its highest level since monitoring began.
Perceptions of value for money have changed very little over time. However, only one-third of respondents were satisfied with how the council delivers its services.
Respondents from districts with larger rural populations tended to have slightly lower brand perceptions, while urban respondents reported higher ratings.
Use of the council’s services has remained consistent this year and users’ satisfaction ratings for public transport, the council’s website and rule inquiries were similar to 2023.
Brand perceptions remained similar to the previous monitoring period, although most measures have improved since the initial 2021 survey.
Measures of the council’s communications improved this year, particularly regarding accessibility and trust in information.
The council will discuss the draft report at its meeting on Wednesday and will consider how best to respond to the survey feedback. — Allied Media
