Hills Shire Council sought to examine community attitudes and perceptions towards current and future services and facilities provided by the Council. Overall, the research found a generally positive outcome for Hills Shire Council, with 46 out of 47 services/facilities/criteria rated as "moderately satisfied" to "very highly satisfied". Lack of public transport and 'traffic congestion and ease of access' were the highest priority issues facing The Hills Shire in the next 4 years.
Hills Shire Council, residents are more satisfied than the LGA Benchmark score for 17 out of 20 comparable measures, including "general satisfaction with the Council" and "Council communication and access to information", which is equal to 1 and lower than the Benchmark for the remaining 2 comparables measure.
Key Findings
Identify and understand the hierarchy of community priorities
Inform the deployment of Council resources in line with community aspirations Step 1. Performance Gap Analysis (PGA)
Performance Gap Ranking
When analyzing the performance gaps, it is important to recognize that a gap of up to 1.0 is mostly acceptable when the initial importance rating is 4.0+, as it indicates that residents consider the attribute to be 'high' rather than 'very high' importance and that the satisfaction they have with The Hills Shire Council's performance on the same measure is 'moderate'. For example, 'Council's decision-making' received an importance score of 4.22, indicating that it is considered an area of 'very high' importance by residents. In the case of a performance gap such as for 'library services' (3.29 importance vs. 4.24 satisfaction), we can identify that the facility/service has only 'moderate' importance for the wider community, but for residents who feel that this facility is important , it provides a 'very high' level of satisfaction.
When examining the top 11 performance gaps, we can identify that all services or facilities have been rated as 'moderately high' to 'extremely high' in importance.
Note: Performance gap is the first step in the process, we now need to identify comparative ratings across all services and facilities to get an understanding of relative importance and
At the same time, it received a satisfaction score of 3.14, indicating that residents are 'moderately satisfied' with The Hills Shire Council's efforts and focus on that goal. Resident satisfaction for all these areas is between 2.97 and 3.58, indicating that resident satisfaction for these measures is 'moderately low' to 'moderate'. The key findings of this analysis suggest that while there is scope to improve satisfaction across a range of services/facilities, "maintenance of residential (local) road condition" is the area of lowest relative satisfaction.
Note: Performance Gap is the first step in the process. We now need to identify comparative assessments of all services and facilities to understand their relative importance and.
Quadrant Analysis
Quadrant Analysis
Explaining the 4 quadrants
The Shapley Value Regression
What Does This Mean?
If you only focus on stated importance, you are not focusing on the key drivers of community satisfaction
Key Drivers of Satisfaction with The Hills Shire Council
Clarifying Priorities
Summary
Recommendations
Identify community expectations of Council professionalism and fiscal responsibility 2. Look to identify methods and mediums that can saliently inform the community of
Engage and actively communicate with residents as to how they can be more involved in shaping the future plans of Council
Clarify and seek to address community expectations regarding all aspects of transport &
Section A
Detailed Findings
Importance of, and Satisfaction with, Council services and facilities
Importance of, and Satisfaction with Council Services and Facilities
Interpreting the Mean Scores
By combining the results of the regression data, we can determine the derived importance of the different Nett priority areas. This is not to say that other priority areas are less important, but rather that certain services and facilities, united under the banner of 'proactive management', are fundamental drivers of resident satisfaction. In the report, the average scores for each criterion were assigned a certain 'level of importance or satisfaction'.
Less than zero Negative performance gap between importance and satisfaction Review/Reconsider Resource Allocation – Code Green.
Importance/Satisfaction – Creating Vibrant Communities
Contribution to Overall Satisfaction with Council (Regression Data)
Overview of Rating Scores Importance – overall
Men were more satisfied than women with the provision of 'services and facilities for the elderly'.
Importance/Satisfaction – Valuing Our Environment
Conservation of plants and animals in their natural habitat High Conservation of permanent open space. Moderately high Conservation of plants and animals in their natural habitat Conservation of sensitive environmental areas.
Importance/Satisfaction – Balanced Urban Growth
Extremely high Preservation of the condition of (local) roads in residential areas Very high Preservation of the condition of pedestrian and cycle paths. Men were more satisfied than women with 'maintaining the condition of residential (local) roads'. Maintaining the condition of residential (local) roads Maintaining the condition of pedestrian and cycle paths Streetscape.
Low-density housing developments Overall zoning of the Shire Traffic parking enforcement Medium-density housing developments.
Importance/Satisfaction – Building A Modern Local Economy
Women rated the importance of the 'town center and town atmosphere' and 'generation of local jobs' higher than men (4.20 v v 4.18).
Importance/Satisfaction – Proactive Leadership
Opportunities to 'have your say' on issues that affect your life Communication with the Council and access to information Council's financial management. Opportunities to have a 'real say' on issues that affect your life Long term planning for The Hills Shire.
Overall Satisfaction with Council’s Performance
Overview
Improving Satisfaction with Council’s Performance
Outcome
Section B Priority Issues
Things Most Valued About Living in The Shire
Being surrounded by bushland and open space, and all the parks in The Shire have ". Rural atmosphere that our community has with peace and quiet, close to all amenities yet natural bushland everywhere". The bushland and wildlife, the area is a safe place to live in. I feel safe walking through the bush alone.”
Great friendly area to bring up our children as we are close to all amenities such as transport, schools, shops and entertainment”. The family atmosphere in the area, it is peaceful, easy to get to the children's schools, it will be closer, but we have more bushland to balance the development”. The high level of security, which is due to the close community that looks after each other and the neighborhood in general”.
Highest Priority Issues Facing The Hills Shire in the Next 4 Years
Section C
Council Contact & Information
Men more often preferred 'online', while women more often preferred telephony. The predominant methods of obtaining information from the Council were the 'Council website', 'personal enquiry', the 'Hills News', through the 'rates notice' and in the 'Hills Shire Times'. Men more often than women obtained information from the 'Rouse Hill Times' and 'e-newsletters'.
None of these Other Rouse Hills-Stanhope Gardens News Hills Focus community magazine E-newsletters Social media Radio Rouse Hill Times Library Word of mouth Hills Shire Times Sent with rate notice Hills News Personal Inquiry Council website.
Section D
Living In The Hills Shire
Quality of Life
Agreement with Specific Statements
I feel safe moving around in public spaces in The Hills at night I feel part of my local community My neighborhood has a friendly community.
Sustainability in the Home
Section E
Access to Services
There was a 'very high' level of agreement that access to 'local shops', 'schools', 'major shopping centres', 'health and healthcare services' and 'parks, open spaces and bushland' was easy, while it was . The rest of the facilities received a 'moderate' to 'moderately high' level of agreement because they are easily accessible. With the exception of 'child care', which remained statistically similar, agreement with all criteria improved significantly since 2010.
Women more often agreed that access to "my workplace", "local shops" and. Public transport Tertiary institutions (TAFE or university) Leisure or cultural facilities My workplace Local facilities Sports facilities Child care Parks, open spaces and bushland Health and medical services Major shopping centers Schools Local shops.
Section F
Working Inside/Outside The Shire
Working Inside/Outside The Hills Shire
41% of residents thought it was likely that they would use the metro train to travel to work and another 10%. Residents aged 18-24 are likely to spend significantly more time traveling to work than their older counterparts. As you may know, the NSW State Government is planning to build an underground metro rail system that will connect Rouse Hill to Sydney's CBD.
On average, residents in The Hills commute just over an hour a day to their jobs. On average, how many minutes does it take you in total to travel to and from your usual place of work. Nb: Since percentages are rounded to the nearest percentage, criteria with a count of 3 or less are shown as 0%.
Appendix A
Data and Correlation Tables
Conservation of plants and animals in their natural habitat Bushland regeneration and weed control Household waste collection. Maintenance of residential (local) roads Maintenance of main cycle paths and roads Traffic parking enforcement. How would you rate your overall satisfaction with the Council's performance in all areas of responsibility.
Sent with Price Notice Hills Shire Times Oral Library Rouse Hill Times Radio Social Media E-Newsletter Hills Focus Community Magazine. Sent with Hills Shire Times Price Notice Rouse Hill Times Radio Oral Library. My neighborhood has a friendly atmosphere. I prefer to shop in my local community During the day I feel safe walking around the public spaces in The Hills. I feel safe walking around public places in The Hills at night.
Which of the following, if any, do you have, or do, at home in relation to being more sustainable. Bulk purchases to reduce package waste Compost or worm farm Recycled water W ater tank Solar power None of the above Total.
Community Involvement
Appendix B Questionnaire
My name is and I am calling on behalf of The Hills Shire Council from a research company called Micromex. We are currently conducting an inquiry into the services that the Council provides and what the Council's priorities should be in the future. The survey will take approximately 15 minutes to complete and we would like to interview the person in your household over 18 who had the most recent birthday.
IF NOT COMPLETED] Are you or someone in your household a councilor employed by a local council. In this first part, could you indicate which best describes your opinion of the importance of the following services/facilities to you, and in the second part, your level of satisfaction with the performance of that service. On a scale of 1 to 5, where 1 means "strongly disagree" and 5 means "strongly agree", to what extent do you agree or disagree with the following statements.
In the past 12 months, have you done one of the following: Ask O Attended a local festival or event. O Been involved in a local committee or community group, such as 355 Committee. O Participated in a council focus group, workshop or council meeting. O Job in my industry/specialisation not available locally O Kept old job when I moved into The Hills Shire.
Think about the next 4 years, what do you think are the highest priority issues facing The Hills Shire and its residents.
