Community satisfied with council

The results are in, and community members have indicated they are happier with almost all aspects of council operations in the 2025/26 Community Satisfaction Survey.

Results from 400 randomly selected Baw Baw Shire residents and ratepayers indicated a reversal of the declining trend observed over the past three years.

Some of the elements surveyed were council's performance, community engagement, roads, customer service, waste management, infrastructure, services and planning.

Improvements occurred in council's overall performance by seven points, overall direction by eight points, and decisions made for the community by seven points.

Sealed local roads jumped up by nine points to a score of 45 which was six points above average when compared to similar councils and one point below the state average.

Unsealed roads also saw a six-point increase this year but was one of the lowest ratings for council at 41, however was above average compared to similar councils (36) and the state overall (40).

"It was really good to see the roads perception. That was my favourite part to read because we've very consciously invested more in roads and that precedes us as well.
"The previous council made a significant change in the roads management contract.
"And for our community to honestly say actually, yes, the road condition is improving, is just wonderful, because it can be easy to just go by perception. There are still plenty of potholes for us to fix and we're certainly focused on doing that better and consistency is key I think," mayor Kate Wilson said.
Other top performing areas were waste management, increasing by five points to 73, art centres and libraries at 73, the appearance of public areas at 71 and recreational facilities scored 68, as did customer service.
Cr Ben Lucas acknowledged the work of all council staff and specifically noted the improvement in waste management.
"It's been a pretty good start and considering we've had six CEOs and there has been a lot of movement in the workspace as well. This group, I'm very proud that we've been able to hang together, hang tough through some difficult times and I think that it's going to be very positive from here on out," he said.
"The waste management is our top performer which is pretty interesting. It will be interesting to look back on this a year later and see how we've gone with the roll out of FOGO. I know it's not completely smooth but we're working on it."
Survey participants said key strengths of the current councillor group, in their first term, were their renewed direction, willingness to listen and a more united approach.
"It's been a huge turnaround this time around without a doubt. I really think it shows council in a very positive light and aligns with the word on the street that I've certainly been hearing as well, and I think the focus here is on what we were elected to do and certainly not focusing on the culture wars of the previous councils," Cr Danny Goss said.
"There's still issues. Everybody knows there's still issues. Planning has caused us issues and is still down. It's always been an issue here and a difficult one to resolve."
Town planning policy saw a score of 42, four points above last year, but below average when compared to similar councils (47) and the state average (51).
Planning permits also was low, scoring 41, improving by two points, but also below average compared to similar councils (44) and the state average (46).
Baw Baw was close to average in 10 of 14 service areas compared with other large rural councils and above average in three areas.
"It was really heartening to see these results because it can be very easy to hear only the flack and gee, we get some of that don't we?" Cr Wilson said.
"Turning a council is like turning the titanic, and it is accolades that should go to councillors and council officers alike. The level of hard work and commitment that I see in this group and in the organisation to serve the community to its very best, day in and day out, despite community conversations, despite the political or macro changes around us, it just never fails. It's so consistent and I think that that is showing up in these results."
The top five areas for council improvement included sealed road maintenance, town planning and permits, financial management, council management and community consultation.
Residents aged 35 to 49 years provided the lowest council ratings for overall council performance, council direction, value for money and six of the 14 individual service areas evaluated.
The State Government compiles community feedback on council's performance across a set of core measures every year.