Annual Community Survey to begin

Richard Parfitt from Whakatāne District Council

The Whakatāne District Council’s annual community survey will begin on Friday, 31 May.

Undertaken by the National Research Bureau, the Communitrak survey poses a series of questions about Council services and facilities to a random selection of 300 residents. The survey results, in combination with other information sources, allow the Council to assess community perceptions about service quality, spending priorities and community issues.

General Manager Strategy and Economic Development, Julie Gardyne, says that while the Council's normal community engagement activities provide useful information about stakeholder perceptions, the annual survey provides "a reliable measure of the wider community's views and helps to highlight any positive or negative trends".

The survey process will take about a week to complete and involves telephone interviews with respondents from across the District's four community board areas, on a population pro-rata basis. Interviews can take up to 20 minutes to complete.

The 2019 survey results will also be supplemented by more detailed information provided by 30 face-to-face interviews.

Ms Gardyne says the survey results are expected to be completed in early-August and will be made available on the Council website.