Zoe Moffatt
Macedon Ranges residents have ranked unsealed roads and sealed roads as the areas they are the most dissatisfied with council’s performance, a new survey revealed.
Research firm JWS Research conducted the 2023 Victorian Community Satisfaction Survey to measure the opinions of residents, with councils receiving the report in early June.
Macedon Ranges council received an overall performance score of 49 out of 100, compared to the state average of 56.
Council performed best in waste management with a score of 71, and worst in unsealed and sealed roads with scores of 31 and 35, respectively.
At a council meeting on July 26, chief executive Bernie O’Sullivan said 400 Macedon Ranges residents were surveyed.
“The 2023 results for Macedon Ranges shared similar trends to the rest of the local government sector with satisfaction levels across eight core measures decreasing over the past year,” Mr O’Sullivan said.
“Some of these results highlight the challenges facing the local government sector as it recovers from COVID-19, natural disasters, financial sustainability, and cost of living pressures.
“We will continue to focus on key areas for improvement … including sealed and unsealed roads, planning and building permits, infrastructure and communication.”
Mr O’Sullivan said despite the 2022 floods, council completed the equivalent of 28 kilometres worth of work on sealed roads, and 770 kilometres worth of grading on gravel roads in the last financial year.
“However, we know there’s lots more to do,” he said.
Councillor Dominic Bonanno said the survey is not pleasant reading in some cases.
“The message I have received loud and clear… is that our roads need fixing,” Cr Bonanno said.
“Let’s make sure as a local government we do everything we can to ensure the roads we are responsible for are fixed, and fixed in a timely manner.”
Across the state, councils’ overall performance scores fell three points from a score of 59 in 2022, with unsealed roads receiving the lowest score of 37
