Satisfaction with Council dips but remains high

Despite a decrease from the previous year, South Taranaki residents are happy with the services the South Taranaki District Council provides according to an independent survey.

The survey of 406 residents across all four South Taranaki wards found that although overall satisfaction with the Council dropped by 5% it still remained high at 83%.

The survey, which has been conducted regularly since 1993, allows the South Taranaki District Council to assess its performance by finding out from residents what they think the Council is doing well and areas where they could do better.

Services and facilities that residents were most satisfied with were the District’s libraries (98%), sewerage system (96%), the tidiness and maintenance of cemeteries (95%), Hāwera Aquatic Centre (94%) and parks and reserves (92%). The services that had the lowest satisfaction rates were the condition of roads (69% satisfaction, which was an increase of 11% on the previous year) and animal management (69% satisfaction). Satisfaction with the kerbside rubbish and recycling service also dropped significantly from 89% last year to 79%.

Council CE, Fiona Aitken, says the reductions in some of the measures were not unexpected given the challenging cost pressures and difficult decisions the Council, like all Councils across New Zealand, was facing.

“Local government inflation had increased by approximately 18% since 2022, resulting in two years of rate increases well above our usual levels and changes to the district’s kerbside rubbish/recycling collection service were also disruptive and controversial with the public roughly split 50/50 on their support of the new service,” says Aitken.

“Despite this our overall satisfaction rates are very high, particularly when compared to similar public organisations.”

Ms Aitken says the Council is always looking to improve the services it provides.

“A number of improvements have already been initiated in areas of lower satisfaction such as putting more resources into the animal control and roading activities, and the recent cost saving measures introduced to reduce the 2025/26 Annual Plan rate increase by around 3%.”

“We don’t always get it right, but I know how hard our staff work for the people of South Taranaki and we are continually looking at ways we can lift the bar in terms of performance,” she says.

“It is good to know that most people understand we are trying to provide the best for our communities with the limited resources we have.”

The district-wide survey was conducted using a random selection method by independent research company Key Research between August 2024 and February 2025.

The survey results can be found at www.southtaranaki.com/plansandreports.