Rotorua residents are mostly happy with the work of the district's council - but some councillors are concerned the public is not getting the full story.
An independent survey of 500 Rotorua residents by the National Research Bureau has revealed high levels of general satisfaction with most council services.
However, councillor Julie Calnan says the council could do a lot better in communicating with the public and she suspects many people don't not know what councillors actually do.
Council services which rated most highly included city cleanliness, sewerage system, beautification, water supply, rubbish collection, parks and reserves, stormwater drainage, event and tourism promotion, roads, library, sports fields and footpaths.
Services that received the lowest satisfaction levels were job promotion, recycling, public toilets, cycling facilities and parking.
But more residents remained satisfied with those services than dissatisfied.
Forty six per cent of respondents rated the performance of the mayor and councillors as fairly good or very good with 14 per cent rating it poor or not very good.
Council staff performance was rated fairly or very good by 73 per cent, compared to just five per cent who said it was poor or not very good.
Mrs Calnan said the fact only 46 per cent of Rotorua people thought the performance of the mayor and councillors was either fairly or very good was a major concern.
"That means over half the people in Rotorua have either no idea what we do or think we are under-performing. I would encourage more people to come along to meetings or get to know their local councillors instead of making assumptions," she said.
Mrs Calnan said councillors needed to take more responsibility in communicating with the public.
Economic and Regulatory Services Committee chairman Mike McVicker said the survey was a waste of money because statistics could be interpreted many ways.
"I think the airport issue has created a lot of friction, but there is a clear message coming from our community ... we do need to communicate better," he said.
Council chief executive Peter Guerin said it was important council got regular feedback from residents and the survey was an independent assessment of people's perceptions, providing valuable information for future planning.
"This latest survey shows that in the community's eyes we're getting it right with most of our services and this is very encouraging feedback to receive.
"The survey also reaffirms a number of service areas where we think there is room for improvement and we're giving priority focus to these right now and in the immediate future.
"They include development of a new economic development strategy to help boost jobs, upgraded and new waste recycling facilities in the city and in Ngongotaha, a review of public toilet needs, developing more cycling facilities and a new parking policy," Mr Guerin said.
See www.rdc.govt.nz for a more detailed report on the survey.
Rotorua council satisfaction survey results
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