Tararua District Council a top performer

Mayor Tracey Collis acknowledged the efforts of councillors and volunteers during lockdown.

Tararua District Council is performing well against other councils, a recent survey has shown.

The survey, dog control and working through lockdown were some of the subjects discussed in a council meeting this week.

Mayor Tracey Collis said the survey was sent out to random residents to measure the council's performance.

"We ask for feedback ... around parks and reserves, cemeteries, leadership and vision," she told councillors.

She said it was something the council did to monitor performance.

There were some areas where the council was in the top percentage in terms of performance, even compared to other, larger councils.

Collis said it was something that was taken for granted, because there were high expectations regarding service levels, especially around issues that were of interest to residents and ratepayers.

"Every staff member takes great pride in what they do and we acknowledge that."

She acknowledged there were some areas where the feedback was not as good but that meant there was room for improvement.

Dog control was also a subject of discussion in the council meeting.

The annual report on dog control policies and practices is a statutory requirement for council.

Councillor Shirley Hull said there had been a substantial investment in animal control.

She said the only thing the council was not hitting the mark on was the availability of dog parks.

The subject of dog parks was something that was going to be brought up in the next annual plan.

CEO Bryan Nicholson said he had also noted a lack of dog facilities for walking around the district.

"A lot of our parks are out of bounds to dogs."

He said he was keen to bring that back to council for discussion.

Collis wanted to acknowledge there had been a lot of stress and anxiety over the lockdown and thanked councillors for all their efforts during that time.

Issues such as keeping the shelves stocked in local supermarkets, maintaining communication with local agencies and cancellations of various events were also acknowledged.

"There was some incredible work being done. I think we've got so much to be proud of. The Tararua is very strong at working together."