Residents Views Sought on Council Services and Facilities

June 5th
[TDC Press release]

Tasman District Council is to conduct its annual survey of residents to determine their level of satisfaction with Council services and facilities.

"We have a responsibility to track how well our residents think we are doing and to monitor their satisfaction with the services we provide. The best way to do this is to interview a cross-section of people, and to have this done by an independent group to ensure impartiality" said Mayor Richard Kempthorne.

The National Research Bureau, an independent market research company, has been commissioned to undertake the survey and report to the Council. The company runs similar surveys for a number of councils throughout New Zealand.

"If you are contacted by the National Research Bureau we would really appreciate it if you could take the time to respond to the survey. Your views are really important to us" said Mr Kempthorne.

People living throughout the District will be telephoned, using a random selection method, and asked their opinions on a wide range of issues about the Council and the services it delivers to the residents of the District.

"The information from the survey will help Council to understand and meet residents' wishes. We undertake this survey annually so that we can keep up to date with our residents views" said Mr Kempthorne.

Interviewing for the survey begins on Friday 11 June 2010, and is expected to be completed on Sunday 20 June 2010. The results from the survey will be made available through Newsline and Council's website.

Comment by William Cleaver:
[Posted 9 June 2010]

We, the Grumpy Old Men, would be interested in the content of this survey to be held from June 11-20th. As with most impartial surveys that report to a higher body, the questions are normally in favour of that body.

Example 1 - "Do you think that the recently completed roadworks and contractors completed the job to your satisfaction?" Of course you would say yes - the job's done!

Example 2 - "Are you happy with the TDC decision to accept that they only remove a portion of the water from the water table supplied by the Motueka river?" The answer would be yes again; but they wont ask "Are you happy that they take 16,000 cubic metres a day?"

Example 3 - "Are you happy about the council decision to reduce the stop bank project to a damage prevention scheme?" They wont ask "Are you pleased that the Motueka Community Board and you the public fought tooth and nail to have he decision changed?"

So you can see what we mean about impartial surveys. If you are called by one of the administrators for the survey and are unsure what your answer should be, just a "no comment" will do.

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