New research shows what Aucklanders expect from the council

Aucklanders want more evidence that the council is accountable and effective, and providing value for money for ratepayers and residents, according to new research released today.

The Citizen Insights Monitor* measures Aucklanders’ views on the performance of the council across a range of areas, including overall satisfaction, confidence in decision-making and trust in the council. The benchmark research is based on a survey of around 3000 Aucklanders, which will be used to inform the council’s ongoing work to improve performance and value for money.

Key findings include that:

• The council needs to improve on demonstrating accountability and effectiveness in order to improve its reputation among Aucklanders

• 15 per cent of respondents were satisfied with the council’s performance, while 36 per cent were dissatisfied

• 17 percent of respondents say they trust the council to make the right decision, while 47 per cent do not

• Residents who live closer to the city centre and those in South Auckland tend to rate the council more highly than those who live further out

• Areas that residents cite as examples of the council’s positive impact include improving transport and the environment, and continuing council’s positive commitment to Auckland’s cultural diversity

• The council’s baseline reputational score sits at 45 out of a total of 100 points.

The Citizen Insights Monitor is one of the inputs into the council’s 2017-2019 ‘Performance Plan’, which is also published today. The plan details the organisation’s goals and addresses the expectations of Aucklanders through four key focus areas – engaging and enabling communities, customer-friendly services, making our size work and building a high performance culture. It includes a number of measures that the council will report publicly on each quarter, including trust in council, customer service, elected member satisfaction, health and safety and financial management.

Auckland Council Chief Executive Stephen Town says: “It is clear from these results that we need to work harder to earn the trust and confidence of the citizens and ratepayers we serve. Aucklanders want more visibility of council decisions and greater confidence that we are focussed on the right things. We also need to do more to reach Aucklanders living further from the city centre.

“The insights from this research are a valuable input into our new three-year Performance Plan, which sets ambitious targets for the organisation and will help us, and Aucklanders, track our progress against the organisation’s goals. We will be reporting publicly on this plan and on our efforts to improve services and accountability across council.”

Results of the CIM will be updated once 12 months of data collection is completed, and released in March 2017. Updates will then be released quarterly on a rolling 12 month basis to enable us to see how the council’s advocacy and reputation levels are trending over time.

The council will report quarterly on measures set out in the Performance Plan.

ENDS

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