Council Approval Rating Highest In Country
Nelson residents are the most satisfied in the country when it comes to the performance of their council, a new survey has shown.
At the first ordinary council meeting of the new triennium on Thursday, the newly elected Nelson City Council received a report on the results of the 2024-25 residents’ survey.
Senior policy adviser Louis Dalzell told councillors that Nelson received the highest overall satisfaction score when benchmarked against 20 other district and city councils that were also surveyed.
On average, councils scored a 41% satisfaction rate, but Nelson achieved 59%, down from 60% the previous year.
The survey had a maximum margin of error of 4.4%.
The survey results showed areas with the highest level of satisfaction among residents included the kerbside recycling collection service (84%); museums, heritage buildings, and galleries (80%); recycling services at the Nelson Waste Recovery Centre (77%); libraries (76%); parks and recreation (74%); and sports grounds (74%).
Areas with lowest levels of satisfaction were the council’s response to climate change (41%); those who agree the council provides sufficient opportunity for people to have their say (43%); and those who agree the council communicates well with its residents (44%).
Areas of higher community concern were three waters infrastructure services, flood protection, looking after the natural environment, and transport.
Mayor Nick Smith said the timing of the survey results at the start of the new council term was “a very useful entree, as the organisation moves to its new structure and our council starts a new term”.
Nationally, the survey results showed a “level of grumpiness” with councils, he said.
Surveys were just one tool for making decisions, he said. “We need to make sure that our decisions that are made on those more technical questions are driven by professional advice rather than just surveying polling results that are useful but not the only drive.”
Councillor James Hodgson said the worst performing areas, when benchmarked against other councils, were public swimming pools and aquatic facilities, playgrounds, libraries and public toilets.
“The question I’ll be asking, particularly as we look forward and look at the Long Term Plan, is: what are we gonna do about it?”
Councillor Aaron Stallard said the results showed a clear mandate to step up regarding climate change.
The survey showed strong dissatisfaction with the city’s response to climate change and a desire for the council to lead projects to reduce community greenhouse gas emissions, he said.
“As we develop the Annual Plan and the Long Term Plan, and seek to implement the climate change strategy adopted in July, we can take heart from the information that’s in the survey that shows a strong community expectation that we will take action to protect and restore the environment, that we need to move faster on climate action, and that we should be extending our gaze to community emissions, not just council’s own emissions.”
By Warren Gamble, Nelson Mail
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