Residents are being asked to share their views on MidCoast Council’s performance, with a community satisfaction survey soon to commence across the region.

The telephone survey, to be undertaken by independent researchers Micromex, has been designed to provide important insight into the local community’s priorities and satisfaction levels when it comes to Council activities, its service delivery, and available facilities.  

MidCoast Council’s General Manager, Adrian Panuccio said the results will be used to determine immediate and longer-term priorities, and identify ways Council can provide improved or more efficient service delivery to its residents.

“Feedback about our performance and how people feel about local issues comes in all the time through a range of channels, but formalising the process is important in identifying region-wide sentiment and establishing benchmarks for tracking purposes”, Mr Panuccio said.

The survey involves contacting a sample of 400 people by phone, with representation across the entire region, and across all age brackets 18 years and over.

Previous surveys undertaken in 2016 and 2017 have relied primarily on sourcing local phone numbers randomly using the White Pages.

“With many people no longer having a landline at home, especially in the younger age groups, we’ve asked Micromex to collect mobile numbers in busy locations prior to the survey kicking off. These will complement numbers generated using traditional methods”.

The ‘number harvesting’ process will take place from Thursday 6 February and continue through the weekend, with researchers making direct contact in venues such as Gloucester Farmers Markets, Taree Central Shopping Centre, and Wharf Street in Forster. Micromex staff will wear a clearly visible badge to identify themselves, and will produce Council documentation if required.

The survey itself will be conducted over a two week period, commencing on Monday 10 February and continuing through to Saturday 22 February. Residents will be asked to provide feedback on a range of Council service areas through a series of questions lasting around 15 to 20 minutes.

“We’re encouraging anyone who receives a call to take the time and have your say. We understand everyone is busy, but your feedback will be instrumental in developing our forward plans”.

Calls can be expected between 4pm and 8.30pm Monday to Friday, and on Saturdays between 10am and 4pm. Researchers will clearly identify themselves as calling from Micromex on behalf of MidCoast Council. It is expected the results of the survey will be made available on Council’s website at the beginning of April 2020.