Invercargill residents are unhappy with how their local council involves people in decision-making, according to a survey.
Swimming complex Splash Palace also took a dive in the council’s annual residents’ survey, with almost half of respondents not satisfied.
But other areas have shown improvement, such as venues, events, and the quality of public transport.
It covers a range of topics, from how frequently the library is used to the quality of the bus service.
One of the lowest-scoring outcomes in the most recent results was the council’s provision for getting people involved in decision-making — coming in at a satisfaction level of just 22%.
"The primary areas of concern were that the council doesn’t listen and that engagement opportunities are not advertised," the survey explained.
But, other areas scored markedly higher, with satisfaction for the library hitting 81%.
Parks and open spaces reached 75%, while venues and events climbed from 31% in 2021/22 to 51% in 2023/24.
Satisfaction with swimming complex Splash Palace "declined significantly", the report noted, dropping from 74% to 56% over the past two years.
Over that same time period, the cost of public transport had also seen a dip from 65% to 48% satisfaction, while the perceived quality of the service had increased eight percentage points to 46%.
A total 78% of survey respondents said they never used the bus service.
In response to questions, council chief executive Michael Day said the feedback received was invaluable, no matter what it was.
"Although we are seeing some results that show room for improvement ... we are also seeing areas where we have taken on board feedback from previous years and satisfaction is increasing."
The survey was only one aspect of performance reporting, Mr Day said, and he encouraged people to get involved with council activities such as consultation.
"Our takeaway from this year’s results is that there is still room for us to improve to the satisfaction of our residents."
The survey is conducted online with participants able to complete it at any time during the year.
• LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.
