Blue Mountains News

Of the residents surveyed, 84 per cent were satisfied to some extent with the performance of Council and the feeling that the quality of life in the Blue Mountains is improving remains high, despite the external pressures and rising cost of living.

Council conducts a survey every two years, as a way to check in with our community to find out how we’re doing, and what we need to work on. The survey was conducted by Taverner Research Group, an independent social research consultancy.

Compared to survey results for other councils across NSW, Taverner said that Blue Mountains residents had higher levels of general satisfaction, which has remained steady since our best result, recorded in 2020.

Blue Mountains Council Chief Executive Officer Dr Rosemary Dillon said: “Getting this feedback every two years is essential to our planning and day to day operations. We need and want to know the community’s views on our performance and the services we’re delivering.

“Council staff work hard to provide the best quality service possible to our residents. These survey results reflect that hard work, and I’m extremely proud and excited to see that this work and dedication is making a difference and is being recognised by our community.

“Council’s results remain consistently above the benchmark for NSW councils and while that is very exciting, we know that there is always room for improvement,” Dr Dillon said.

This year’s results were presented to Council at the 28 May meeting. The survey was conducted over six weeks from late January into March.

Results showed that the key drivers of satisfaction with Council are consultation with the community, Council provision of information and opportunity to participate in Council decision-making.

Highlights

·       84% are satisfied with the performance of Council in providing services to the community.

·       84% are satisfied with Council’s leadership and response when natural disasters impact the Blue Mountains.

·       74% feel they belong to the community they live in.

·       78% are satisfied with the performance of Council staff.

·       92% feel generally safe in their neighbourhood.

• The feeling that the quality of life in the Blue Mountains is improving remains high, despite the external pressures and rising cost of living.

Blue Mountains Mayor, Cr Mark Greenhill said: “I am delighted to see the overall satisfaction rating remains high, and quite proud that it’s higher than the NSW average. And I am extremely grateful to Dr Dillon and all the staff at Council for their continued hard work and dedication, particularly in the face of ongoing challenges.”

For more information and to download the full report go to here