The Hills Shire Council Community Research Final Report · Final Report November 2012 Prepared for:...
Transcript of The Hills Shire Council Community Research Final Report · Final Report November 2012 Prepared for:...
The Hills Shire Council
Community Research
Final Report
November 2012
Prepared for:
Prepared by:
ABN 14 003 179 440
10/1 Bounty Close Tuggerah, NSW 2259
Postal address: PO Box 5059, Chittaway Bay NSW 2261
Telephone: (02) 4352 2388 Fax: (02) 4352 2117
www.micromex.com.au
The Hills Shire Council
Community Research – draft report
October 2012
The information contained herein is believed to be reliable and accurate. However, no
guarantee is given as to its accuracy and reliability, and no responsibility or liability for any
information, opinions or commentary contained herein, or for any consequences of its use, will
be accepted by Micromex Research, or by any person involved in the preparation of this report.
The Hills Shire Council
Community Research – draft report
October 2012
Table of Contents
Introduction
Background & Methodology 1
Sample Profile 3
Key Findings 4
Summary & Recommendations 17
Results
Section A – Importance of, and Satisfaction with, Council services and facilities 18
Creating Vibrant Communities 21
Valuing Our Environment 27
Balanced Urban Growth 32
Building A Modern Local Economy 37
Proactive Leadership 41
Overall Satisfaction with Council’s Performance 46
Section B – Priority Issues 49
Things most valued about living in the Shire 49
Highest priority issues facing The Hills Shire in the next 4 years 51
Section C – Contact with Council 52
Preferred method for conducting Council related business 52
Sourcing Council information 53
Hills Focus community magazine 54
Section D – Living in The Hills Shire 55
Quality of life 55
Agreement with specific statements 56
Sustainability in the home 58
Section E – Access to Services 59
Access to services 59
Section E – Working Inside/Outside The Shire 61
Area of employment 61
Utilisation of the metro train 62
Travel time to place of employment 63
Suggested improvements for Public Transport 64
Appendices 65
A. Data and Correlation Tables 65
B. Questionnaire
The Hills Shire Council
Community Research – draft report
October 2012 1
Background and Methodology
The Hills Shire Council sought to examine community attitudes and perceptions towards current
and future services and facilities provided by Council. Key objectives of the research included:
o To assess and establish the community’s priorities and satisfaction in relation to Council
activities, services and facilities
o To identify the community’s overall level of satisfaction with Council’s performance
o To identify the community’s level of satisfaction with regards to contact they have had with
Council staff
o To identify trends and benchmark results against the research conducted previously
To facilitate this, Micromex Research was contracted to develop a survey template that enabled
Council to effectively analyse attitudes and trends within the community.
Questionnaire
Micromex Research, together with The Hills Shire Council, developed the questionnaire.
A copy of the questionnaire is provided in Appendix B.
Data collection
The survey was conducted during the period 10th – 21st September 2012 from 4:30pm to 8:30pm,
Monday to Friday and from 10am to 4pm Saturday [if appropriate].
Survey area
The Hills Shire Council Local Government Area.
Sample selection and error
The sample consisted of a total of 1,000 residents. The selection of respondents was by means of a
computer based random selection process using the electronic White Pages.
A sample size of 1,000 residents provides a maximum sampling error of plus or minus 3.1% at 95%
confidence.
The sample was weighted by age to reflect the 2011 ABS census data.
Participants
Individuals in the household, 18 years or older, were selected using the ‘last birthday’ selection
procedure.
If the person was not at home, call-backs were scheduled for a later time. Unanswered calls were
retried to a maximum of three times throughout the period of the survey.
Interviewing
Interviewing was conducted in accordance with IQCA (Interviewer Quality Control Australia)
Standards and the Market Research Society Code of Professional Conduct.
The Hills Shire Council
Community Research – draft report
October 2012 2
Background and Methodology
Prequalification
Participants in this survey were pre-qualified as having lived in the The Hills Shire Council area for a
minimum of six months.
Data analysis
The data within this report was analysed using SPSS. To identify the statistically significant
differences between the groups of means, ‘One-Way Anova tests’ and ‘Independent Samples T-
tests’ were used. ‘Z Tests’ were also used to determine statistically significant differences between
column percentages.
Ratings questions
The Unipolar Scale of 1 to 5, where 1 was the lowest importance or satisfaction and 5 the highest
importance or satisfaction, was used in all rating questions.
This scale allowed for a mid range position for those who had a divided or neutral opinion.
Comparisons by year
Where appropriate, comparisons have been made with the research conducted in 2010.
Mean rating explanation
Mean rating: 1.99 or less ‘Very low’ level of importance/satisfaction
2.00 – 2.49 ‘Low’ level of importance/satisfaction
2.50 – 2.99 ‘Moderately low’ level of importance/satisfaction
3.00 – 3.59 ‘Moderate’ level of importance/satisfaction
3.60 – 3.89 ‘Moderately high’ level of importance/satisfaction
3.90 – 4.19 ‘High’ level of importance/satisfaction
4.20 – 4.49 ‘Very high’ level of importance/satisfaction
4.50+ ‘Extremely high’ level of importance/satisfaction
Note: Only respondents who rated services/facilities a 4 or 5 in importance were asked to rate
their satisfaction with that service/facility.
Errors: Data in this publication is subject to sampling variability because it is based on information relating
to a sample of residents rather than the total number. This difference (sampling error) may occur
due to imperfections in reporting and errors made in processing the data. This may occur in any
enumeration, whether it is a full count or sample.
Efforts have been made to reduce the non-sampling error by careful design of the questionnaire
and detailed checking of completed questionnaires.
The Hills Shire Council
Community Research – draft report
October 2012 3
Sample Profile
51%
49%
16%
8%
19%
23%
41%
54%
59%
40%
26%
17%
16%
1%
16%
84%
6%
10%
17%
20%
21%
14%
12%
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
Female
Male
None of these
Attended a Council focus group, workshop or Council Meeting
Been involved in crafts or hobby groups
Been involved in a local committee or local community group
Volunteered
Visited an art gallery, attended a play/concert/cultural event
Attended a community festival or event
Over 20 years
11 - 20 years
6 - 10 years
1 - 5 years
Less than 1 year
Rent
Own/buying
75 +
65 - 74
55 - 64
45 - 54
35 - 44
25 - 34
18 - 24
Age
Ratepayer status
Time lived in the area
Community involvement
Gender
The Hills Shire Council
Community Research – draft report
October 2012 4
Key Findings
Overall, the research has found a generally positive result for The Hills Shire Council, with 46 of the
47 services/facilities/criteria rated as being of ‘moderate satisfaction’ to ‘very high satisfaction’.
At an overall level, residents expressed a ‘moderately high’ level of satisfaction with the
performance of Council, with 64% of the respondents giving a rating of ‘satisfied’-‘Very satisfied’,
which is similar to the result from 2010.
2010 2012
Mean ratings 3.56 3.64
Mean ratings: 1 = not at all satisfied, 5 = very satisfied
3%
6%
28%
54%
10%
0% 20% 40% 60%
Not at all satisfied
Not very satisfied
Somewhat satisfied
Satisfied
Very satisfied
The Hills Shire Council
Community Research – draft report
October 2012 5
Things Most Valued About the Shire
‘Open spaces and a clean environment’ was the most important top of mind response from
residents, followed by ‘easy access to community facilities and services’ and a ‘friendly and
welcoming community’.
Word Frequency Tagging
Verbatim responses for this question were collated and entered into analytical software. This analysis ‘counts’ the
number of times a particular word or phrase appears and, based on the frequency of that word or phrase, a font size is
generated. The larger the font, the more frequently the word or sentiment is mentioned.
Base: n=1,911
5%
2%
2%
2%
5%
7%
9%
9%
17%
17%
25%
0% 10% 20% 30%
Other
I am able to live close to friends and family
There is a wide selection of schools
There is available housing
There is a family oriented environment
The area is surrounded by bushland and has a rural atmosphere
It is a safe area to work and live in
It is very peaceful and relaxed lifestyle
The community is friendly and welcoming
There is easy access to community facilities and services
Open spaces and a clean environment
The Hills Shire Council
Community Research – draft report
October 2012 6
Highest Priority Issues for the Next 4 Years
‘Lack of public transport’ and ‘traffic congestion and ease of access’ were the nominated as the
highest priority issues facing The Hills Shire in the next 4 years.
Word Frequency Tagging
Verbatim responses for this question were collated and entered into analytical software. This analysis ‘counts’ the
number of times a particular word or phrase appears and, based on the frequency of that word or phrase, a font size is
generated. The larger the font, the more frequently the word or sentiment is mentioned.
Base: n=1,803
13%
2%
2%
2%
2%
3%
4%
5%
6%
11%
25%
25%
0% 10% 20% 30%
Other
Improving local facilities for elderly or disabled residents
Safey of the community
Improving communication between Council and residents
Inadequate public parking
Overdevelopment of the area
Balancing current and future infrastructure development
Protecting the local bushland and environment
Development of a local train line
Housing to accommodate the rising population
Traffic congestion and ease of access
Lack of public transport
The Hills Shire Council
Community Research – draft report
October 2012 7
Key Findings
Comparison to LGA Benchmarks
The Hills Shire Council, residents are more satisfied than the LGA Benchmark score for 17 of the 20
comparable measures, including ‘overall satisfaction with Council’ and ‘communication with
Council and access to information’, equal to 1 and below the Benchmark for the remaining 2
comparable measures.
Service/Facility The Hills Shire Council,
Satisfaction Scores
Satisfaction
Benchmark
Above the Benchmark
Recycling collection 4.5 3.9
Town centre and village atmosphere 3.9 3.3
Youth facilities 3.5 3.1
Preservation of sensitive environmental areas 3.8 3.4
Protection of heritage values and buildings 3.8 3.5
Domestic garbage collection 4.4 4.1
Community centres and community halls 3.9 3.6
Maintaining the condition of residential (local) roads 3.0 2.7
Ovals and sporting facilities 3.9 3.7
Communication with Council and access to information 3.6 3.4
Parks and gardens 3.9 3.7
Council's decision-making 3.1 3.0
Long term planning for The Hills Shire 3.2 3.1
Services and facilities for older people 3.7 3.6
Library services 4.2 4.1
Bushland regeneration and weed control 3.6 3.5
Overall satisfaction with Council’s performance 3.6 3.5
Equal to the Benchmark
Maintaining the condition of footpaths and cycleways 3.2 3.2
Below the Benchmark
Aquatic centre 3.6 3.7
Recreation/Performing Arts Centre 3.6 3.9
Mean ratings: 1 = not at all satisfied, 5 = very satisfied
The Hills Shire Council
Community Research – draft report
October 2012 8
Key Findings
Comparisons with the research conducted in 2010 identifies that satisfaction has increased for 24
of the 41 comparable measures, decreased for 10 of the measures and remained statistically
similar for the remaining 7 measures.
2012 2010
Access to your local Councillor 3.4 3.0
Inc
rea
sed
Medium density housing developments, e.g. apartments 3.3 2.9
Town centre and village atmosphere 3.9 3.6
Support for volunteer organisations 4.0 3.8
Communication with Council and access to information 3.6 3.4
Services and facilities for older people 3.7 3.5
Youth facilities, e.g. skate parks 3.5 3.3
Emergency services, e.g. SES and Rural Fire Service 4.4 4.2
Aquatic centre 3.6 3.4
Domestic garbage collection 4.4 4.2
Recreation/Performing Arts Centre 3.6 3.4
Garden organic collection 4.4 4.2
Traffic parking enforcement 3.4 3.2
Council provision of local community events 3.9 3.7
Commercial building developments, e.g. industry, shopping centres, offices 3.8 3.6
Community centres and community halls 3.9 3.7
Pet and animal management/control 3.8 3.6
Generating local employment opportunities 3.4 3.2
Library services 4.2 4.1
Provision of public toilets 3.0 2.9
Preservation of permanent open space 3.6 3.5
Opportunities to have a 'real say' on issues that affect your life 3.2 3.1
Protection of heritage values and buildings 3.8 3.7
Council's financial management 3.3 3.2
Image and presentation of Council information 3.6 3.6 Re
ma
ine
d sim
ilar
Council's decision-making 3.1 3.1
Range of shopping facilities 4.2 4.2
Lighting of public areas 3.5 3.5
Playgrounds/play equipment 3.8 3.8
Preservation of plants and animals in their natural habitat 3.8 3.8
Bushland regeneration and weed control 3.6 3.6
Water quality 4.0 4.1
De
cre
ase
d
Streetscape appearance 3.6 3.7
Ovals and sporting facilities 3.9 4.0
Council's conduct as a professional organisation 3.5 3.6
Parks and gardens 3.9 4.0
Low density housing developments, e.g. single houses, villas 3.4 3.5
Air quality 4.1 4.2
Management of noise pollution 3.6 3.8
Overall zoning of the Shire 3.5 3.7
Maintaining the condition of residential (local) roads 3.0 3.2
Mean ratings: 1 = not at all satisfied, 5 = very satisfied
= A significantly higher level of satisfaction (by group)
= A significantly lower level of satisfaction (by group)
The Hills Shire Council
Community Research – draft report
October 2012 9
Key Findings
The specified research outcomes required us to measure both community importance and
community satisfaction with a range of specific service delivery areas. In order to identify core
priorities, we undertook a 2 step analysis process on the stated importance and rated satisfaction
data, after which we conducted a third level of analysis. This level of analysis was a Shapley
Regression on the data in order to identify which facilities and services are the actual drivers of
overall satisfaction with Council.
By examining both approaches to analysis we have been able to:
1. Identify and understand the hierarchy of community priorities
2. Inform the deployment of Council resources in line with community aspirations
Step 1. Performance Gap Analysis (PGA)
PGA establishes the gap between importance and satisfaction. This is calculated by subtracting
the mean satisfaction score from the mean importance score. In order to measure performance
gaps, respondents are asked to rate the importance of, and their satisfaction with, each of a
range of different services or facilities on a scale of 1 to 5, where 1 = low importance or
satisfaction and 5 = high importance or satisfaction. These scores are aggregated at a total
community level.
The higher the differential between importance and satisfaction, the greater the difference is
between the provision of that service by The Hills Shire Council and the expectation of the
community for that service/facility.
In the table on the following page, we can see the 47 services and facilities that residents rated
by importance and then by satisfaction.
When analysing performance gap data, it is important to consider both stated satisfaction and
the absolute size of the performance gap.
Performance Gap Ranking
Ranking
2012 Service/Facility
Importance
Mean
Satisfaction
Mean
Performance
Gap
1 Maintaining the condition of residential (local) roads 4.68 2.97 1.71
2 Long term planning for The Hills Shire 4.52 3.19 1.33
3 Maintaining the condition of footpaths and cycleways 4.45 3.20 1.25
4 Opportunities to have a 'real say' on issues that affect your life 4.38 3.21 1.17
5 Council's decision-making 4.22 3.14 1.08
6 Council's financial management 4.32 3.33 0.99
7 Generating local employment opportunities 4.32 3.36 0.96
8 Council's conduct as a professional organisation 4.40 3.47 0.93
9 Provision of public toilets 3.89 3.03 0.86
10 Lighting of public areas 4.28 3.47 0.81
11 Communication with Council and access to information 4.37 3.58 0.79
12 Management of noise pollution 4.23 3.56 0.67
Mean ratings: 1 -= not at all important/satisfied and 5 = very important, very satisfied
The Hills Shire Council
Community Research – draft report
October 2012 10
Key Findings
Performance Gap Ranking
Ranking
2012 Service/Facility
Importance
Mean
Satisfaction
Mean
Performance
Gap
13 Low density housing developments 4.00 3.36 0.64
14 Health inspections of food premises, hairdressers, etc. 4.39 3.76 0.63
15 Bushland regeneration and weed control 4.16 3.59 0.57
16 Streetscape appearance 4.20 3.64 0.56
17 Preservation of permanent open space 4.16 3.63 0.53
18 Access to your local Councillor 3.89 3.36 0.53
19 Water quality 4.47 3.95 0.52
20 Air quality 4.57 4.06 0.51
21 Overall zoning of the Shire 3.99 3.50 0.49
22 Preservation of plants and animals in their natural habitat 4.23 3.79 0.44
23 On call kerbside service 4.40 3.98 0.42
24 Domestic garbage collection 4.73 4.36 0.37
25 Parks and gardens 4.20 3.87 0.33
26 Recycling collection 4.73 4.45 0.28
27 Pet and animal management/control 4.03 3.77 0.26
28 Preservation of sensitive environmental areas 4.01 3.75 0.26
29 Town centre and village atmosphere 4.09 3.89 0.20
30 Protection of heritage values and buildings 4.02 3.84 0.18
31 Image and presentation of Council information 3.79 3.63 0.16
32 Traffic parking enforcement 3.55 3.39 0.16
33 Ovals and sporting facilities 4.07 3.94 0.13
34 Range of shopping facilities 4.33 4.24 0.09
35 Garden organic collection 4.44 4.37 0.07
36 Emergency services 4.43 4.37 0.06
37 Playgrounds/play equipment 3.77 3.77 0.00
38 Commercial building developments 3.71 3.81 -0.10
39 Support for volunteer organisations 3.87 4.00 -0.13
40 Medium density housing developments 3.08 3.30 -0.22
41 Aquatic centre 3.38 3.61 -0.23
42 Recreation/Performing Arts Centre 3.25 3.55 -0.30
43 Council provision of local community events 3.55 3.87 -0.32
44 Services and facilities for older people 3.23 3.70 -0.47
45 Library services 3.29 4.24 -0.95
46 Youth facilities 2.53 3.48 -0.95
47 Community centres and community halls 2.90 3.89 -0.99
Mean ratings: 1 -= not at all important/satisfied and 5 = very important/very satisfied
The Hills Shire Council
Community Research – draft report
October 2012 11
Key Findings
When analysing the performance gaps, it is important to recognise that, for the most part, a gap
of up to 1.0 is acceptable when the initial importance rating is 4.0+, as it indicates that residents
consider the attribute to be of ‘high’ to ‘very high’ importance and that the satisfaction they
have with The Hills Shire Council’s performance on that same measure, is ‘moderate’ to
‘moderately high’.
For example, ‘Council’s decision making’ was given an importance score of 4.22, which indicates
that it is considered an area of ‘very high’ importance by residents. At the same time it was given
a satisfaction score of 3.14, which indicates that residents are ‘moderately satisfied’ with The Hills
Shire Council’s performance and focus on that measure.
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 to the
broader community, but for residents who feel that this facility is important, it is providing a ‘very
high’ level of satisfaction.
When we examine the 11 largest performance gaps, we can identify that all the services or
facilities have been rated as ‘moderately high’ to ‘extremely high’ in importance. Resident
satisfaction for all of these areas is between 2.97 and 3.58, which indicates that resident
satisfaction for these measures is ‘moderately low’ to ‘moderate’.
Ranking Service/ Facility Importance
Mean
Satisfaction
Mean
Performance
Gap
1 Maintaining the condition of residential (local) roads 4.68 2.97 1.71
2 Long term planning for The Hills Shire 4.52 3.19 1.33
3 Maintaining the condition of footpaths and cycleways 4.45 3.20 1.25
4 Opportunities to have a 'real say' on issues that affect your life 4.38 3.21 1.17
5 Council's decision-making 4.22 3.14 1.08
6 Council's financial management 4.32 3.33 0.99
7 Generating local employment opportunities 4.32 3.36 0.96
8 Council's conduct as a professional organisation 4.40 3.47 0.93
9 Provision of public toilets 3.89 3.03 0.86
10 Lighting of public areas 4.28 3.47 0.81
11 Communication with Council and access to information 4.37 3.58 0.79
Mean ratings: 1 = not at all important/dissatisfied, 5 = very important/satisfied
The key outcomes of this analysis would suggest that, while there are opportunities to improve
satisfaction across a range of services/facilities, ‘maintaining the condition of residential (local)
roads’ is the area of least relative satisfaction.
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
satisfaction at an LGA level. This is when we undertake step 2 of the analysis.
The Hills Shire Council
Community Research – draft report
October 2012 12
Key Findings
Quadrant Analysis
Step 2. Quadrant Analysis
Quadrant analysis is a useful tool for planning future directions. It combines the stated needs of
the community and assesses The Hills Shire Council’s performance in relation to these needs.
This analysis is completed by plotting the variables on x and y axes, defined by stated importance
and rated satisfaction. We aggregate the mean scores for stated importance and rated
satisfaction to identify where the facility or service should be plotted. For these criteria, the
average stated importance score was 4.03 and the average rated satisfaction score was 3.69.
Therefore, any facility or service that received a mean stated importance score of ≥ 4.03 would
be plotted in the higher importance section and, conversely, any that scored < 4.03 would be
plotted into the lower importance section. The same exercise is undertaken with the satisfaction
ratings above, equal to or below 3.69. Each service or facility is then plotted in terms of
satisfaction and importance, resulting in its placement in one of four quadrants.
Library services
Community centres and community
halls
Services and facilities for older people
Emergency services
Support for volunteer organisations
Council provision of local community
events
Playgrounds/play equipment
Ovals and sporting facilities
Lighting of public areas
Provision of public toilets
Parks and gardens
Aquatic centre
Recreation/Performing Arts Centre
Preservation of sensitive environmental
areasPreservation of permanent open
space
Water quality
Air quality
Management of noise pollution
Preservation of plants & animals in their
natural habitat
Bushland regeneration and weed
control
Domestic garbage collection
Recycling collection
Garden organic collection
On call kerbside service
Maintaining residential roads
Maintaining footpaths and cycleways
Traffic parking enforcement
Overall zoning of the Shire
Range of shopping facilities
Protection of heritage values and
buildings
Low density housing
Medium density housing
Streetscape appearance
Health inspections of food premises,
hairdressers, etc.Pet and animal management/control
Town centre and village atmosphere
Commercial building developments
Generating local employment
opportunities
Council's conduct as a professional
organisation
Opportunities to have a 'real say' on
issues that affect your life
Council's decision-making
unic
Council's financial management
Long term planning for The Hills Shire
Image and presentation of Council
information
Access to your local Councillor
2.9
3.1
3.3
3.5
3.7
3.9
4.1
4.3
4.5
2.9 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 3.7 3.8 3.9 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 4.6 4.7 4.8
Preservation of plants & animals in their natural habitat
Youth facilities 3.48, 2.53
Communication with Council & access to info
Coles
NicheLow importance/Low satisfaction
ImproveHigh importance/Low satisfaction
MaintainHigh importance/High satisfaction
SecondaryLow importance/High satisfaction
The Hills Shire Council
Community Research – draft report
October 2012 13
Key Findings
Explaining the 4 quadrants
Attributes in the top right quadrant, MAINTAIN, such as ‘recycling collection’, are Council’s core
strengths, and should be treated as such. Maintain, or even attempt to improve your position in
these areas, as they are influential and address clear community needs.
Attributes in the bottom right quadrant, IMPROVE, such as ‘maintaining the condition of residential
(local) roads’, are areas where Council is perceived to be currently under-performing and are key
concerns in the eyes of your residents. In the vast majority of cases you should aim to improve
your performance in these areas to better meet the community’s expectations.
Attributes in the bottom left quadrant, NICHE, such as ‘low density housing developments’, are of
a relatively lower priority (and the word ‘relatively’ should be stressed – they are still important).
These areas tend to be important to a particular segment of the community.
Finally, attributes in the top left quadrant, SECONDARY, such as ‘protection of heritage values and
buildings’, are core strengths, but in relative terms they are less important than other areas and
Council’s servicing in these areas may already be exceeding expectation. Consideration could
be given to rationalising focus in these areas as they are not community priorities for
improvement.
Recommendations based only on stated importance and satisfaction have major limitations, as
the actual questionnaire process essentially ‘silos’ facilities and services as if they are independent
variables, when they are in fact all part of the broader community perception of Council
performance.
Residents’ priorities identified in stated importance/satisfaction analysis often tend to be in areas
that are problematic. No matter how much focus a Council dedicates to road maintenance, it
will often be found in the IMPROVE quadrant. This is because, perceptually, the condition of local
roads can always be better.
Furthermore, the outputs of stated importance and satisfaction analysis address the current
dynamics of the community, they do not predict which focus areas are the most likely agents to
change the community’s perception of Council’s overall performance.
Therefore, in order to identify how The Hills Shire Council can actively drive overall community
satisfaction, we conducted further analysis.
The Hills Shire Council
Community Research – draft report
October 2012 14
Key Findings
The Shapley Value Regression
We recently finalised the development of a Council Satisfaction Model, to identify priorities that
will drive overall satisfaction with Council.
This model was developed by conducting specialised analysis from over 30,000 LGA interviews
conducted since 2005. In essence, it proved that increasing resident satisfaction by actioning the
priorities they stated as being important does not necessarily positively impact on overall
satisfaction with the Council. This regression analysis is a statistical tool for investigating
relationships between dependent variables and explanatory variables.
What Does This Mean?
The learning is that if we only rely on the stated community priorities, we will not be allocating the
appropriate resources to the actual service attributes that will improve overall community
satisfaction. Using regression analysis we can identify the attributes that essentially build overall
satisfaction. We call the outcomes ‘derived importance’.
Correlation Between Stated Importance and
Derived Importance Is Low
If you only focus on stated importance, you are not focusing on the
key drivers of community satisfaction
Coles
89%
S
t
a
t
e
d
I
m
p
o
r
t
a
n
c
e
D e r I v e d I m p o r t a n c e
Maintaining the condition
of residential (local) roads
Overall zoning of the Shire
Council's conduct as a
professional organisationOpportunities to have a
'real say' on issues that
affect your life
Council's decision-making
Communication with
Council and access to
information
Council's financial
management
Long term planning for
The Hills Shire
Image and presentation
of Council information
Access to your local
Councillor
3.6
3.8
4.0
4.2
4.4
4.6
4.8
2.0 4.0 6.0 8.0 10.0 12.0 14.0 16.0
In the chart above, on the vertical axis of ‘stated importance’, all the facilities/services fall in
relatively close proximity to each other (i.e. between approximately 3.7 & 4.7). However, on the
horizontal axis the attributes are spread between 3 & 15. The further an attribute is found to the
right of the horizontal axis of ‘derived importance’, the more it contributes in driving overall
satisfaction with Council.
The Hills Shire Council
Community Research – draft report
October 2012 15
Key Findings
Key Drivers of Satisfaction with The Hills Shire Council
The results in the chart below provide The Hills Shire Council with a complete picture of both the
extrinsic and intrinsic community priorities and motivations and identify what attributes are the key
drivers of community satisfaction.
These top 10 services/facilities account for over 60% of overall satisfaction with Council. This
indicates that the remaining 37 attributes we obtained measures on have only a limited impact
on the community’s satisfaction with The Hills Shire Council’s performance. Therefore, whilst all 47
service/facility areas are important, only a minority of them are significant drivers of the
community’s overall satisfaction with Council.
Coles
89%
These Top 10 Indicators Account for over
60% of Overall Satisfaction with Council
2.9
3.9
4.0
4.1
6.4
6.4
6.9
7.0
7.3
14.9
0.00 2.00 4.00 6.00 8.00 10.00 12.00 14.00 16.00
Maintaining the condition of residential (local) roads
Access to your local Councillor
Image and presentation of Council information
Overall zoning of the Shire
Opportunities to have a 'real say in issues that affect you
Council's decision-making
Long term planning for The Hills Shire
Communication with Council and access to information
Council's financial management
Council's conduct as a professional organisation
These 10 services/facilities are the key community priorities and by addressing these, The Hills Shire
Council will improve overall community satisfaction. The score assigned to each area indicates
the percentage of influence each attribute contributes to overall satisfaction with Council.
In the above chart, ‘maintaining the condition of residential (local) roads’ contributes 2.9%
towards overall satisfaction, while ‘Council’s conduct as a professional organisation’ (14.9%) is a
far stronger driver, contributing over five times as much to overall satisfaction with Council.
The Hills Shire Council
Community Research – draft report
October 2012 16
Key Findings
Clarifying Priorities
If The Hills Shire Council can address these core drivers, they will be able to improve resident
satisfaction with their performance. In the chart below we can see that, for many of the core
drivers, Council is already performing reasonably well. There are clear opportunities, however, to
improve satisfaction with the services/facilities that fall below the diagonal line.
Recreation/Performing
Arts Centre
Maintaining the condition
of residential (local) roads
Overall zoning of the Shire
Council's conduct as a
professional organisation
Opportunities to have a
'real say' on issues that
affect your life
Council's decision-making
Communication with
Council and access to
information
Council's financial
management
Long term planning for
The Hills Shire
Image and presentation
of Council information
Access to your local
Councillor
2.9
3.1
3.3
3.5
3.7
2.0 4.0 6.0 8.0 10.0 12.0 14.0 16.0
Mapping Stated Satisfaction and Derived
Importance Identifies the Community Priority Areas
The key drivers of overall community satisfaction with Council are the organisation’s conduct,
decision-making and long term planning, as well as the condition of the roads
IMPROVE
CONSOLIDATE
D e r I v e d I m p o r t a n c e
S
t
a
t
e
d
s
a
t
i
s
f
a
c
t
i
o
n
The key outcomes of this analysis indicate that ‘Council’s conduct as a professional organisation’,
‘long term planning for The Hills Shire’, Council’s decision-making’, ‘opportunities to have a ‘real
say’ on issues that affect your life’ and ‘maintaining the condition of residential (local) roads’ are
priority areas from a resident perspective.
The Hills Shire Council
Community Research – draft report
October 2012 17
Key Findings
Summary
The summary table below combines the outcomes of the regression analysis with the stated
importance and satisfaction outcomes of the performance gap and quadrant analysis.
In developing future plans and strategies, The Hills Shire Council should consider the implications
raised by each form of analysis.
Shapley’s
Analysis
Gap
Analysis
Quadrant
Analysis
Council's conduct as a professional organisation 14.85 0.93 Improve
Council's financial management 7.29 0.99 Improve
Communication with Council and access to information 6.95 0.79 Improve
Long term planning for The Hills Shire 6.92 1.33 Improve
Council's decision-making 6.45 1.08 Improve
Opportunities to have a 'real say' on issues that affect your life 6.37 1.17 Improve
Overall zoning of the Shire 4.13 0.49 Niche
Image and presentation of Council information 4.05 0.16 Niche
Access to your local Councillor 3.89 0.53 Niche
Maintaining the condition of residential (local) roads 2.89 1.71 Improve
Recommendations
The Hills Shire Council has performed strongly at an overall level; however, there are some very
clear opportunities to strengthen community perceptions, specifically:
1. Identify community expectations of Council professionalism and fiscal responsibility
2. Look to identify methods and mediums that can saliently inform the community of
Council’s activities and plans
3. Engage and actively communicate with residents as to how they can be more involved in
shaping the future plans of Council
4. Clarify and seek to address community expectations regarding all aspects of transport &
access and zoning, as they are primary issues of concern for residents
Section A
Detailed Findings Importance of, and Satisfaction with,
Council services and facilities
The Hills Shire Council
Community Research – draft report
October 2012 18
Importance of, and Satisfaction with Council Services and Facilities
The Unipolar Scale of 1 to 5, where 1 was the lowest importance or satisfaction and 5 the highest
importance or satisfaction, was used in all rating questions.
Interpreting the Mean Scores
Within the report, the mean ratings for each of the criteria have been assigned a determined level of
‘importance’ or ‘satisfaction’. This determination is based on the following groupings:
Mean rating:
1.99 or lower ‘Very low’ level of importance/satisfaction
2.00 – 2.49 ‘Low’ level of importance/satisfaction
2.50 – 2.99 ‘Moderately low’ levels of importance/satisfaction
3.00 – 3.59 ‘Moderate’ level of importance/satisfaction
3.60 – 3.89 ‘Moderately high’ level of importance/satisfaction
3.90 – 4.19 ‘High’ level of importance/satisfaction
4.20 – 4.49 ‘Very high’ level of importance/satisfaction
4.50 + ‘Extreme’ level of importance/satisfaction
Participants were asked to indicate which best described their opinion of the importance of the following
services/facilities to them. Respondents who rated services/facilities a 4 or 5 in importance were then asked
to rate their satisfaction with that service/facility.
We Explored Resident Response to 47
Service Areas
Creating Vibrant Communities
Library services
Community centres and community halls
Youth facilities, e.g. skate parks
Services and facilities for older people
Emergency services
Support for volunteer organisations
Council provision of local community events
Playgrounds/play equipment
Ovals and sporting facilities
Lighting of public areas
Provision of public toilets
Parks and gardens
Aquatic centre
Recreation/Performing Arts Centre
Valuing our Environment
Preservation of sensitive environmental areas
Preservation of permanent open space
Water quality
Air quality
Management of noise pollution
Preservation of plants and animals in their natural habitat
Bushlandregeneration and weed control
Domestic garbage collection
Recycling collection
Garden organic collection
On call kerbside service
Balanced Urban Growth
Maintaining the condition of residential (local) roads
Maintaining the condition of footpaths and cycleways
Traffic parking enforcement
Overall zoning of the Shire
Range of shopping facilities
Protection of heritage values and buildings
Low density housing developments
Medium density housing developments
Streetscape appearance
Health inspections of food premises, hairdressers, etc.
Pet and animal management/control
Building a Modern Local Economy
Town centre and village atmosphere
Commercial building developments
Generating local employment opportunities
Proactive Leadership
Council's conduct as a professional organisation
Opportunities to have a 'real say' on issues that affect your life
Council's decision-making
Communication with Council and access to information
Council's financial management
Long term planning for The Hills Shire
Image and presentation of Council information
Access to your local Councillor
The Hills Shire Council
Community Research – draft report
October 2012 19
Importance of, and Satisfaction with Council Services and Facilities
Key Service Areas’ Contribution to Overall Satisfaction
By combining the outcomes of the regression data, we can identify the derived importance of the different
Nett Priority Areas.
Contribution To Overall Satisfaction With
Council’s Performance
3.0
9.6
14.6
16.1
56.8
0.0 20.0 40.0 60.0
Nett - Building A Modern Local
Economy
Nett - Valuing Our Environment
Nett - Creating Vibrant Communities
Nett - Balanced Urban Growth
Nett - Proactive Leadership
‘Proactive Leadership’ (57%) is the key contributor toward overall satisfaction with Council performance.
The services and facilities grouped under this banner included:
Council's conduct as a professional organisation
Opportunities to have a 'real say' on issues that affect your life
Council's decision-making, e.g. objectivity
Communication with Council and access to information
Council's financial management
Long term planning for The Hills Shire
Image and presentation of Council information
Access to your local Councillor
This is not to indicate that the other priority areas are less important, but rather that some of the services and
facilities grouped under the banner of ‘Proactive Leadership’ are core drivers of resident satisfaction.
The Hills Shire Council
Community Research – draft report
October 2012 20
Importance of, and Satisfaction with Council Services and Facilities
Interpreting Performance Gap
Within the report, the mean ratings for each of the criteria have been assigned a determined ‘level of
importance or satisfaction’. To identify the performance gap, we subtract the rated satisfaction mean
score from the stated importance mean scores:
Performance gap
1.50 or higher Extremely high gap between importance and satisfaction
Requires Immediate Action – Code Violet
0.90 – 1.49 Moderately high – Very high gap between importance and satisfaction
Requires Immediate Investigation – Code Red
0.20 – 0.89 Moderately low – Moderate gap between importance and satisfaction
Monitor – Code Grey
0.00 – 0.19 Minimal gap between importance and satisfaction
Monitor – Code Blue
Less than Zero Negative performance gap between importance and satisfaction
Revisit/Reconsider Resource Allocation – Code Green
Correlations – definitions
We have run analysis across 2 areas of interest:
Age
Gender
The Hills Shire Council
Community Research – draft report
October 2012 21
Importance/Satisfaction – Creating Vibrant Communities
Services and facilities explored included:
Library services
Community centres and community halls
Youth facilities
Services and facilities for older people
Emergency services
Support for volunteer organisations
Council provision of local community events
Playgrounds/play equipment
Ovals and sporting facilities
Lighting of public areas
Provision of public toilets
Parks and gardens
Aquatic centre
Recreation/Performing Arts Centre
Contribution to Overall Satisfaction with Council (Regression Data)
Council’s performance in the areas below accounts for almost 15% of overall satisfaction, based on the
regression analysis.
Creating Vibrant Communities –
Almost 15% of Overall Satisfaction with Council
0.3
0.4
0.5
0.6
0.6
0.7
0.8
0.9
1.2
1.3
1.6
1.6
2.0
2.1
14.6
0.0 4.0 8.0 12.0 16.0
Library services
Services and facilities for older people
Youth facilities, e.g. skate parks
Support for volunteer organisations
Emergency services
Provision of public toilets
Council provision of local community events
Aquatic centre
Playgrounds/play equipment
Ovals and sporting facilities
Lighting of public areas
Community centres and community halls
Parks and gardens
Recreation/Performing Arts Centre
Nett - Creating Vibrant Communities
The Hills Shire Council
Community Research – draft report
October 2012 22
Importance/Satisfaction – Creating Vibrant Communities
Overview of Rating Scores
Importance – overall
Very high Emergency services
Lighting of public areas
Parks and gardens
High Ovals and sporting facilities
Moderately high Provision of public toilets
Support for volunteer organisations
Playgrounds/play equipment
Moderate Council provision of local community events
Aquatic centre
Library services
Recreation/Performing Arts Centre
Services and facilities for older people
Moderately low Community centres and community halls
Youth facilities
Importance – by age
Residents aged 18-54 deemed the importance of ‘ovals and sporting facilities’ and the ‘aquatic centre’ to
be higher than did those aged 75+ (4.35, 4.24, 4.35 & 4.19 v 3.02) (3.43, 3.44, 3.76 & 3.45 v 2.70).
Residents aged 25-44 deemed the importance of ‘emergency services’ to be higher than did those aged
18-24 (4.62 & 4.52 v 4.15), and the importance of ‘playgrounds/play equipment’ to be higher than did those
aged 18-24 and 45+ (4.29 & 4.45 v 3.55, 3.56, 3.57, 3.31 & 2.72).
Residents aged 65+ rated the importance of ‘services and facilities for older people’ higher than did those
aged 25-34 (3.63 & 3.72 v 2.91).
Residents aged 35-44 deemed the importance of ‘library services’ to be higher than did those aged 25-34
and 45+ (3.79 v 3.26, 3.28, 2.92, 2.84 & 2.72), the importance of ‘community centres and community halls’ to
be higher than did those aged 55+ (3.19 v 2.62, 2.45 & 2.51), and the importance of ‘youth facilities’ to be
higher than did those aged 18-24 & 45+ (3.08 v 2.48, 2.53, 2.08, 2.01 & 1.84).
Importance – by gender
Females rated 10 of the 14 services/facilities higher in importance than did males, including:
Library services (3.52 v 3.06)
Community centres and community halls (3.05 v 2.75)
Emergency services, e.g. SES and Rural Fire Service (4.51 v 4.34)
Support for volunteer organisations (4.02 v 3.71)
Council provision of local community events (3.69 v 3.40)
Lighting of public areas (4.40 v 4.16)
Provision of public toilets (4.13 v 3.64)
Parks and gardens (4.35 v 4.03)
Aquatic centre (3.55 v 3.21)
Recreation/Performing Arts Centre (3.45 v 3.04)
The Hills Shire Council
Community Research – draft report
October 2012 23
Importance/Satisfaction – Creating Vibrant Communities
Satisfaction – overall
Very high Emergency services
Library services
High Support for volunteer organisations
Ovals and sporting facilities
Moderately high Community centres and community halls
Parks and gardens
Council provision of local community events
Playgrounds/play equipment
Services and facilities for older people
Aquatic centre
Recreation/Performing Arts Centre
Youth facilities
Moderate Lighting of public areas
Provision of public toilets
Satisfaction – by age
Residents aged 35-44 were more satisfied with the provision of ‘library services’ than were those aged 18-24
(4.35 v 4.00).
Residents aged 75+ were more satisfied with the provision of the following:
Services and facilities for older people – than were 18-34 & 45-64 (4.33 v 3.56, 3.42, 3.54 & 3.59)
Emergency services – than were 18-24 & 35-54 (4.74 v 4.16, 4.31 & 4.34)
Council provision of local community events – than were 18-24 & 45-54 (4.48 v 3.81 & 3.75)
Parks and gardens – than were 18-64 (4.35 v 3.67, 3.85, 3.84, 3.74 & 3.89)
Recreation/Performing Arts Centre – than were 18-64 (4.39 v 3.00, 3.50, 3.62, 3.67 & 3.42)
Satisfaction – by gender
Males were more satisfied than were females with the provision of ‘services and facilities for older people’
(3.81 v 3.60), ‘support for volunteer organisations’ (4.13 v 3.89) and the ‘aquatic centre’ (3.76 v 3.49).
The Hills Shire Council
Community Research – draft report
October 2012 24
Importance/Satisfaction – Creating Vibrant Communities
Provision of public toilets
Lighting of public areas
Parks and gardens
Ovals and sporting facilities
Emergency services
Playgrounds/play equipment
Part 1
Performance
gap
0.86
0.81
0.33
0.13
0.06
0.00
Mean
ratings
3.89
3.03
4.28
3.47
4.20
3.87
4.07
3.94
4.43
4.37
3.77
3.77
Mean ratings: 1 = not at all important/satisfied, 5 = very important/satisfied
Performance gap
Extremely high gap Minimal gap
Moderately high – very high gap Negative gap
Moderately low – moderate gap
13%
4%
7%
4%
8%
7%
9%
5%
4%
13%
23%
6%
22%
14%
10%
7%
20%
12%
23%
15%
34%
12%
37%
22%
39%
24%
38%
22%
40%
27%
48%
32%
31%
26%
19%
24%
27%
43%
50%
65%
32%
50%
23%
47%
18%
56%
12%
42%
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
Not at all
important
Not very
important
Somewhat
important Important
Very
important
Not at all
satisfied
Not very
satisfied
Somewhat
satisfied Satisfied
Very
satisfied
The Hills Shire Council
Community Research – draft report
October 2012 25
Importance/Satisfaction – Creating Vibrant Communities
Support for volunteer
organisations
Aquatic centre
Recreation/
Performing Arts Centre
Council provision of local
community events
Services and facilities for older
people
Youth facilities, e.g. skate parks
Library services
Community centres and
community halls
Part 2
Performance
gap
-0.13
-0.23
-0.30
-0.32
-0.47
-0.95
-0.95
-0.99
Mean
ratings
3.87
4.00
3.38
3.61
3.25
3.55
3.55
3.87
3.23
3.70
2.53
3.48
3.29
4.24
2.90
3.89
Mean ratings: 1 = not at all important/satisfied, 5 = very important/satisfied
Performance gap
Extremely high gap Minimal gap
Moderately high – very high gap Negative gap
Moderately low – moderate gap
22%
22%
6%
38%
21%
9%
5%
15%
8%
16%
8%
4%
15%
14%
14%
5%
11%
6%
9%
8%
12%
9%
10%
6%
22%
29%
11%
16%
25%
18%
32%
19%
20%
28%
31%
27%
23%
23%
23%
18%
44%
19%
45%
22%
36%
13%
38%
22%
47%
28%
39%
25%
35%
21%
40%
27%
27%
15%
41%
30%
19%
16%
21%
27%
25%
26%
17%
21%
25%
30%
33%
40%
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
Not at all
important
Not very
important
Somewhat
important Important
Very
important
Not at all
satisfied
Not very
satisfied
Somewhat
satisfied Satisfied
Very
satisfied
The Hills Shire Council
Community Research – draft report
October 2012 26
Importance/Satisfaction – Creating Vibrant Communities
Quadrant Analysis
Recommendations
Based on the stated outcomes analysis, The Hills Shire Council needs to improve:
Lighting of public areas
The Hills Shire Council also needs to maintain resident satisfaction with:
Emergency services
Parks and gardens
Ovals and sporting facilities
Lighting of public areas
Emergency services
Parks and gardens
Ovals and sporting facilities
Provision of public toilets
Aquatic centre
Recreation/Performing Arts Centre
Youth facilities
Support for volunteer organisations
Playgrounds/play equipment
Council provision of local community events
Library services
Services and facilities for older people
Community centres and community halls
IMPROVE MAINTAIN
NICHE SECONDARY
The Hills Shire Council
Community Research – draft report
October 2012 27
Importance/Satisfaction – Valuing Our Environment
Services and facilities explored included:
Preservation of sensitive environmental areas
Preservation of permanent open space
Water quality
Air quality
Management of noise pollution
Preservation of plants and animals in their natural habitat
Bushland regeneration and weed control
Domestic garbage collection
Recycling collection
Garden organic collection
On call kerbside service
Contribution to Overall Satisfaction with Council (Regression Data)
Council’s performance in the areas below accounts for almost 10% of overall satisfaction, based on the
regression analysis.
Coles
89%
Valuing Our Environment –Almost 10% of Overall Satisfaction with Council
0.4
0.4
0.5
0.6
0.7
0.7
0.8
0.9
1.0
1.7
1.9
9.6
0.00 2.50 5.00 7.50 10.00
On call kerbside service
Garden organice collection
Air quality
Preservation of sensitive environmental areas
Management of noise pollution
Domest garbage collection
Bushland regeneration and weed control
Water quality
Recycling collection
Preservation of plants and animals in their natural habitat
Preservation of permanent open space
Nett - Valuing Our Environment
The Hills Shire Council
Community Research – draft report
October 2012 28
Importance/Satisfaction – Valuing Our Environment
Overview of Rating Scores
Importance – overall
Extremely high Domestic garbage collection
Recycling collection
Air quality
Very high Water quality
Garden organic collection
On call kerbside service
Management of noise pollution
Preservation of plants and animals in their natural habitat
High Preservation of permanent open space
Bushland regeneration and weed control
Preservation of sensitive environmental areas
Importance – by age
Residents aged 18-24 deemed the importance of the following services/facilities to be of lower importance
than did:
Preservation of permanent open space – 25+ (3.60 v 4.11, 4.26, 4.22, 4.31, 4.30 & 4.30)
Bushland regeneration and weed control – 25+ (3.65 v 4.20, 4.20, 4.20, 4.25, 4.34 & 4.39)
Domestic garbage collection – 25+ (4.50 v 4.79, 4.75, 4.73, 4.73, 4.84 & 4.88)
Recycling collection – 25-44 & 65+ (4.53 v 4.79, 4.76, 4.83 & 4.92)
Garden organic collection – 25+ (3.93 v 4.38, 4.54, 4.45, 4.48, 4.66 & 4.81)
On call kerbside services – 35+ (4.05 v 4.42, 4.50, 4.50, 4.51, 4.55)
Importance – by gender
Females deemed the importance of 9 of the 11 services/facilities to be of higher importance than did
males, including:
Preservation of sensitive environmental areas (4.15 v 3.86)
Preservation of permanent open space (4.24v 4.08)
Water quality (4.57 v 4.36)
Air quality (4.65 v 4.48)
Management of noise pollution (4.31 v 4.14)
Preservation of plants and animals in their natural habitat (4.41 v 4.04)
Bushland regeneration and weed control (4.28 v 4.04)
Garden organic collection (4.53 v 4.34)
On call kerbside service (4.46 v 4.33)
The Hills Shire Council
Community Research – draft report
October 2012 29
Importance/Satisfaction – Valuing Our Environment
Satisfaction – overall
Very high Recycling collection
Garden organic collection
Domestic garbage collection
High Air quality
On call kerbside service
Water quality
Moderately high Preservation of plants and animals in their natural habitat
Preservation of sensitive environmental areas
Preservation of permanent open space
Moderate Bushland regeneration and weed control
Management of noise pollution
Satisfaction – by age
Residents aged 75+ were more satisfied with the ‘preservation of sensitive environmental areas’ than were
18-24 y/o (4.15 v 3.54), ‘preservation of permanent open spaces’ than were 18-24 & 35-64 y/o (4.23 v 3.30,
3.65, 3.51 & 3.53).
Satisfaction – by gender
Males were more satisfied with ‘air quality’ than were females (4.15 v 3.98).
The Hills Shire Council
Community Research – draft report
October 2012 30
Importance/Satisfaction – Valuing Our Environment
Management of noise pollution
Bushland regeneration and weed
control
Preservation of permanent open
space
Water quality
Air quality
Preservation of plants and
animals in their natural habitat
On call kerbside service
Domestic garbage collection
Recycling collection
Preservation of sensitive
environmental areas
Garden organic collection
Performance
gap
0.67
0.57
0.53
0.52
0.51
0.44
0.42
0.37
0.28
0.26
0.07
Mean
ratings
4.23
3.56
4.16
3.59
4.16
3.63
4.47
3.95
4.57
4.06
4.23
3.79
4.40
3.98
4.73
4.36
4.73
4.45
4.01
3.75
4.44
4.37
Mean ratings: 1 = not at all important/satisfied, 5 = very important/satisfied
Performance gap
Extremely high gap Minimal gap
Moderately high – very high gap Negative gap
Moderately low – moderate gap
4%
5%
7%
4%
4%
5%
4%
7%
4%
4%
7%
6%
4%
7%
9%
10%
4%
12%
7%
8%
25%
18%
7%
4%
9%
4%
15%
11%
28%
15%
17%
8%
22%
9%
29%
17%
30%
15%
27%
15%
25%
16%
46%
30%
27%
16%
26%
16%
22%
20%
38%
27%
39%
17%
34%
20%
37%
29%
36%
29%
33%
29%
61%
69%
20%
43%
62%
79%
59%
79%
49%
64%
25%
52%
38%
72%
36%
67%
21%
48%
20%
48%
23%
51%
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
Not at all
important
Not very
important
Somewhat
important Important
Very
important
Not at all
satisfied
Not very
satisfied
Somewhat
satisfied Satisfied
Very
satisfied
The Hills Shire Council
Community Research – draft report
October 2012 31
Importance/Satisfaction – Valuing Our Environment
Quadrant Analysis
Recommendations
Based on the stated outcomes analysis, The Hills Shire Council needs to improve:
Management of noise pollution
Preservation of permanent open space
Bushland regeneration and weed control
The Hills Shire Council also needs to maintain resident satisfaction with:
The Hills Shire Council also needs to maintain resident satisfaction with:
Recycling collection
Domestic garbage collection
Air quality
Water quality
Garden organic collection
On call kerbside service
Preservation of plants and animals in their natural habitat
Management of noise pollution
Preservation of permanent open space
Bushland regeneration and weed control
Recycling collection
Domestic garbage collection
Air quality
Water quality
Garden organic collection
On call kerbside service
Preservation of plants and animals in their natural habitat
Nil Preservation of sensitive environmental
areas
IMPROVE MAINTAIN
NICHE SECONDARY
The Hills Shire Council
Community Research – draft report
October 2012 32
Importance/Satisfaction – Balanced Urban Growth
Services and facilities explored included:
Maintaining the condition of residential (local) roads
Maintaining the condition of footpaths and cycleways
Traffic parking enforcement
Overall zoning of the Shire
Range of shopping facilities
Protection of heritage values and buildings
Low density housing developments, e.g. single houses, villas
Medium density housing developments, e.g. apartments
Streetscape appearance
Health inspections of food premises, hairdressers, etc.
Pet and animal management/control
Contribution to Overall Satisfaction with Council (Regression Data)
Council’s performance in the areas below accounts for over 16% of overall satisfaction, based on the
regression analysis.
Coles
89%
Leadership and Economy –Almost 22% of Overall Satisfaction with Council
0.6
0.6
0.8
0.9
1.1
1.1
1.1
1.3
1.5
2.9
4.1
16.1
0.0 5.0 10.0 15.0 20.0
Medium density housing developments
Range of shopping facilities
Pet and animal management/control
Protection of heritage values and buildings
Traffic parking enforcement
Health inspections of food premises, hairdressers, etc.
Streetscape appearance
Low density housing developments, e.g. single houses, villas
Maintaining the condition of footpaths and cycleways
Maintaining the condition of residential (local) roads
Overall zoning of the Shire
Nett - Balanced Urban Growth
The Hills Shire Council
Community Research – draft report
October 2012 33
Importance/Satisfaction – Balanced Urban Growth
Overview of Rating Scores
Importance – overall
Extremely high Maintaining the condition of residential (local) roads
Very high Maintaining the condition of footpaths and cycleways
Health inspections of food premises, hairdressers, etc.
Range of shopping facilities
Streetscape appearance
High Pet and animal management/control
Protection of heritage values and buildings
Low density housing developments, e.g. single houses, villas
Overall zoning of the Shire
Moderate Traffic parking enforcement
Medium density housing developments, e.g. apartments
Importance – by age
Residents aged 75+ deemed the importance of ‘traffic parking enforcement’ to be higher than did those
aged 18-34 & 45-54 (4.06 v 3.38, 3.29 & 3.48), and ‘range of shopping facilities’ to be higher than did those
aged 18-24 & 45-54 (4.65 v 4.23 & 4.24).
Residents aged 45-74 deemed the importance of the ‘overall zoning of the Shire’ to be higher than did
those aged 18-24 (4.10, 4.18 & 4.23 v 3.60).
Residents aged 35-44 and 55+ rated the importance of ‘protection of heritage values and buildings’ higher
than did those aged 18-24 (4.07, 4.14, 4.26 & 4.33 v 3.65).
Residents aged 55-74 rated the importance of ‘low density housing developments’ higher than did those
aged 18-24 (4.13 & 4.21 v 3.68).
Residents aged 25-34 & 65-74 deemed the importance of ‘pet and animal management/control’ to be
higher than did those aged 18-24 (4.12 & 4.23 v 3.73).
Importance – by gender
Females rated 9 of the 11 services/facilities higher in importance than did males, these were:
Maintaining the condition of residential (local) roads(4.77 v 4.58)
Maintaining the condition of footpaths and cycleways (4.62 v 4.28)
Traffic parking enforcement (3.73 v 3.36)
Range of shopping facilities (4.44 v 4.21)
Protection of heritage values and buildings (4.17 v 3.87)
Low density housing developments, e.g. single houses, villas (4.09 v 3.90)
Streetscape appearance (4.28 v 4.11)
Health inspections of food premises, hairdressers, etc. (4.50 v 4.27)
Pet and animal management/control (4.20 v 3.85)
The Hills Shire Council
Community Research – draft report
October 2012 34
Importance/Satisfaction – Balanced Urban Growth
Satisfaction – overall
Very high Range of shopping facilities
Moderately high Protection of heritage values and buildings
Pet and animal management/control
Health inspections of food premises, hairdressers, etc.
Streetscape appearance
Moderate Overall zoning of the Shire
Traffic parking enforcement
Low density housing developments, e.g. single houses, villas
Medium density housing developments, e.g. apartments
Maintaining the condition of footpaths and cycleways
Moderately low Maintaining the condition of residential (local) roads
Satisfaction – by age
Residents aged 18-34 were more satisfied with the ‘overall zoning of the Shire’ than were those aged 45-64
(3.89 & 3.77 v 3.32 & 3.20), and ‘streetscape appearance’ than were those aged 45-64 (3.97 & 3.89 v 3.43 &
3.46).
Residents aged 25-34 were more satisfied with ‘medium density housing developments’ than were those
aged 45-54 (3.73 v 3.04).
Residents aged 18-34 and 75+ were more satisfied with the ‘protection of heritage values and buildings’
than were those aged 55-64 (4.04, 4.02 & 4.14 v 3.60).
Residents aged 75+ were more satisfied with the ‘range of shopping facilities’ than were those aged 45-54
(4.57 v 4.16).
Satisfaction – by gender
Males were more satisfied than were females with ‘maintaining the condition of residential (local) roads’
(3.06 v 2.90) and maintaining the condition of footpaths and cycleways’ (3.36 v 3.06).
The Hills Shire Council
Community Research – draft report
October 2012 35
Importance/Satisfaction – Balanced Urban Growth
Maintaining the condition of
residential (local) roads
Maintaining the condition of
footpaths and cycleways
Low density housing
developments
Health inspections of food
premises, hairdressers, etc.
Streetscape appearance
Overall zoning of the Shire
Pet and animal
management/control
Protection of heritage values
and buildings
Traffic parking enforcement
Range of shopping facilities
Medium density housing
developments
Performance
gap
1.71
1.25
0.64
0.63
0.56
0.49
0.26
0.18
0.16
0.09
-0.22
Mean
ratings
4.68
2.97
4.45
3.20
4.00
3.36
4.39
3.76
4.20
3.64
3.99
3.50
4.03
3.77
4.02
3.84
3.55
3.39
4.33
4.24
3.08
3.30
Mean ratings: 1 = not at all important/satisfied, 5 = very important/satisfied
Performance gap
Extremely high gap Minimal gap
Moderately high – very high gap Negative gap
Moderately low – moderate gap
9%
15%
8%
10%
4%
6%
5%
7%
4%
8%
13%
17%
14%
4%
13%
8%
5%
6%
6%
6%
13%
4%
10%
6%
15%
7%
18%
20%
28%
34%
12%
13%
29%
31%
24%
20%
22%
21%
27%
23%
30%
15%
28%
11%
31%
20%
34%
9%
35%
4%
28%
18%
40%
32%
30%
21%
42%
28%
43%
28%
34%
24%
38%
37%
41%
23%
29%
25%
27%
24%
21%
19%
18%
17%
44%
53%
19%
31%
26%
43%
25%
43%
20%
44%
20%
44%
22%
62%
18%
44%
14%
63%
11%
75%
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
Not at all
important
Not very
important
Somewhat
important Important
Very
important
Not at all
satisfied
Not very
satisfied
Somewhat
satisfied Satisfied
Very
satisfied
The Hills Shire Council
Community Research – draft report
October 2012 36
Importance/Satisfaction – Balanced Urban Growth
Quadrant Analysis
Recommendations
Based on the stated outcomes analysis, The Hills Shire Council needs to improve:
Maintaining the condition of residential (local) roads
Maintaining the condition of footpaths and cycleways
Streetscape appearance
The Hills Shire Council also needs to maintain resident satisfaction with:
Health inspections of food premises, hairdressers, etc.
Range of shopping facilities
Pet and animal management/control
Maintaining the condition of residential (local) roads
Maintaining the condition of footpaths and cycleways
Streetscape appearance
Health inspections of food premises, hairdressers, etc.
Range of shopping facilities
Pet and animal management/control
Low density housing developments
Overall zoning of the Shire
Traffic parking enforcement
Medium density housing developments
Protection of heritage values and buildings
IMPROVE MAINTAIN
NICHE SECONDARY
The Hills Shire Council
Community Research – draft report
October 2012 37
Importance/Satisfaction – Building A Modern Local Economy
Services and facilities explored included:
Town centre and village atmosphere
Commercial building developments, e.g. industry, shopping centres, offices
Generating local employment opportunities
Contribution to Overall Satisfaction with Council (Regression Data)
Council’s performance in the areas below accounts for 3% of overall satisfaction, based on the regression
analysis.
Coles
89%
Building a Modern Local Economy –
3% of Overall Satisfaction with Council
0.7
1.1
1.2
3.0
0.0 1.0 2.0 3.0
Commercial building developments
Town centre and village atmosphere
Generating local employment opportunities
Nett - Building a Modern Local Economy
The Hills Shire Council
Community Research – draft report
October 2012 38
Importance/Satisfaction – Building A Modern Local Economy
Overview of Rating Scores
Importance – overall
Very high Generating local employment opportunities
High Town centre and village atmosphere
Moderately high Commercial building developments
Importance – by age
There were no significant differences by age.
Importance – by gender
Females rated the importance of the ‘town centre and village atmosphere’ and ‘generating local
employment opportunities’ higher than did males (4.20 v 3.98) (4.45 v 4.18).
Satisfaction – overall
Moderately high Town centre and village atmosphere
Commercial building developments
Moderate Generating local employment opportunities
Satisfaction – by age
Residents aged 75+ were more satisfied with ‘generating local employment opportunities’ than were those
aged 45-54 (3.78 v 3.22).
Satisfaction – by gender
Males were more satisfied with ‘generating local employment opportunities’ than were females
(3.44 v 3.28).
The Hills Shire Council
Community Research – draft report
October 2012 39
Importance/Satisfaction – Building A Modern Local Economy
Generating local
employment opportunities
Town centre and village
atmosphere
Commercial building
developments
Performance
gap
0.96
0.20
-0.10
Mean
ratings
4.32
3.36
4.09
3.89
3.71
3.81
Mean ratings: 1 = not at all important/satisfied, 5 = very important/satisfied
Performance gap
Extremely high gap Minimal gap
Moderately high – very high gap Negative gap
Moderately low – moderate gap
5%
4%
5%
7%
6%
4%
13%
28%
27%
20%
20%
40%
12%
41%
31%
44%
31%
32%
23%
25%
29%
27%
43%
12%
59%
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
Not at all
important
Not very
important
Somewhat
important Important
Very
important
Not at all
satisfied
Not very
satisfied
Somewhat
satisfied Satisfied
Very
satisfied
The Hills Shire Council
Community Research – draft report
October 2012 40
Importance/Satisfaction – Building A Modern Local Economy
Quadrant Analysis
Recommendations
Based on the stated outcomes analysis, The Hills Shire Council needs to improve:
Generating local employment opportunities
The Hills Shire Council also needs to maintain resident satisfaction with:
Town centre and village atmosphere
Generating local employment opportunities
Town centre and village atmosphere
Nil Commercial building developments
IMPROVE MAINTAIN
NICHE SECONDARY
The Hills Shire Council
Community Research – draft report
October 2012 41
Importance/Satisfaction – Proactive Leadership
Services and facilities explored included:
Council's conduct as a professional organisation
Opportunities to have a 'real say' on issues that affect your life
Council's decision-making, e.g. objectivity
Communication with Council and access to information
Council's financial management
Long term planning for The Hills Shire
Image and presentation of Council information
Access to your local Councillor
Contribution to Overall Satisfaction with Council (Regression Data)
Council’s performance in the areas below accounts for almost 57% of overall satisfaction, based on the
regression analysis.
Coles
89%
Proactive Leadership –Almost 57% of Overall Satisfaction with Council
3.9
4.0
6.4
6.4
6.9
7.0
7.3
14.9
56.8
0.0 20.0 40.0 60.0
Access to your local Councillor
Image and presentation of Council information
Opportunities to have a 'real say' on issues that affect your life
Council's decision-making
Long term planning for The Hills Shire
Communication with Council and access to information
Council's financial management
Council's conduct as a professional organisation
Nett - Proactive Leadership
The Hills Shire Council
Community Research – draft report
October 2012 42
Importance/Satisfaction – Proactive Leadership
Overview of Rating Scores
Importance – overall
Extremely high Long term planning for The Hills Shire
Very high Council's conduct as a professional organisation
Opportunities to have a 'real say' on issues that affect your life
Communication with Council and access to information
Council's financial management
Council's decision-making
Moderately high Access to your local Councillor
Image and presentation of Council information
Importance – by age
Residents aged 55-74 rated the importance of ‘Council’s financial management higher than did those
aged 18-24 (4.47 & 4.51 v 4.00).
Residents aged 35-44 and 65-74 rated the importance of ‘long term planning for The Hills Shire’ higher than
did those aged 18-24 (4.62 & 4.64 v 4.25).
Residents aged 65-74 deemed the importance of the ‘image and presentation of Council information’ to
be higher than did those aged 18-54 (4.17 v 3.60, 3.68, 3.69 & 3.69).
Importance – by gender
Females rated the importance of 6 of the 8 services/facilities higher than did males, these were:
Council's conduct as a professional organisation (4.47 v 4.33)
Opportunities to have a 'real say' on issues that affect your life (4.52 v 4.24)
Council's decision-making, e.g. objectivity (4.29 v 4.15)
Communication with Council and access to information (4.48 v 4.26)
Long term planning for The Hills Shire (4.60 v 4.44)
Access to your local Councillor (3.99 v 3.78)
The Hills Shire Council
Community Research – draft report
October 2012 43
Importance/Satisfaction – Proactive Leadership
Satisfaction – overall
Moderately high Image and presentation of Council information
Moderate Communication with Council and access to information
Council's conduct as a professional organisation
Access to your local Councillor
Council's financial management
Opportunities to have a 'real say' on issues that affect your life
Long term planning for The Hills Shire
Council's decision-making
Satisfaction – by age
Residents aged 18-34 were more satisfied with ‘Council’s decision-making’ than were those aged 45-64
(3.45 & 3.44 v 2.88 & 3.01).
Residents aged 18-34 & 75+ were more satisfied with ‘Council’s financial management’ than were those
aged 45-54 (3.62, 3.53 & 3.65 v 3.07).
Residents aged 75+ were more satisfied with ‘long term planning for The Hills Shire’ than were those aged
35-64 (3.69 v 3.11, 2.92 & 3.14).
Residents aged 25-34 were more satisfied with the ‘image and presentation of Council information’ than
were those aged 45-54 (3.95 v 3.43).
Satisfaction – by gender
Males were more satisfied with ‘opportunities to have a ‘real say’ on issues that affect your life’, ‘Council’s
financial management’ and the ‘image and presentation of Council information’ than were females (3.30
v 3.13) (3.49 v 3.17) (3.74 v 3.54).
The Hills Shire Council
Community Research – draft report
October 2012 44
Importance/Satisfaction – Proactive Leadership
Long term planning for The
Hills Shire
Opportunities to have a 'real
say' on issues that affect your
life
Council's decision-making
Council's financial
management
Council's conduct as a
professional organisation
Communication with Council
and access to information
Access to your local
Councillor
Image and presentation of
Council information
Performance
gap
1.33
1.17
1.08
0.99
0.93
0.79
0.53
0.16
Mean
ratings
4.52
3.19
4.38
3.21
4.22
3.14
4.32
3.33
4.40
3.47
4.37
3.58
3.89
3.36
3.79
3.63
Mean ratings: 1 = not at all important/satisfied, 5 = very important/satisfied
Performance gap
Extremely high gap Minimal gap
Moderately high – very high gap Negative gap
Moderately low – moderate gap
4%
10%
5%
6%
6%
6%
7%
9%
7%
9%
8%
15%
7%
10%
11%
12%
18%
18%
15%
30%
27%
23%
22%
26%
13%
33%
12%
37%
13%
39%
18%
32%
13%
41%
7%
38%
29%
33%
24%
37%
28%
33%
25%
34%
20%
26%
25%
27%
21%
25%
19%
20%
32%
19%
41%
21%
56%
18%
60%
12%
61%
10%
52%
15%
62%
12%
70%
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
Not at all
important
Not very
important
Somewhat
important Important
Very
important
Not at all
satisfied
Not very
satisfied
Somewhat
satisfied Satisfied
Very
satisfied
The Hills Shire Council
Community Research – draft report
October 2012 45
Importance/Satisfaction – Proactive Leadership
Quadrant Analysis
Recommendations
Based on the stated outcomes analysis, The Hills Shire Council needs to improve:
Communication with Council and access to information
Council's conduct as a professional organisation
Council's financial management
Opportunities to have a 'real say' on issues that affect your life
Long term planning for The Hills Shire
Council's decision-making
Communication with Council and access to information
Council's conduct as a professional organisation
Council's financial management
Opportunities to have a 'real say' on issues that affect your life
Long term planning for The Hills Shire
Council's decision-making
Nil
Image and presentation of Council information
Access to your local Councillor
Nil
IMPROVE MAINTAIN
NICHE SECONDARY
The Hills Shire Council
Community Research – draft report
October 2012 46
Overall Satisfaction with Council’s Performance
Summary
Overall, the research has found a generally positive result for The Hills Shire Council, with 46 of the 47
services/facilities/criteria rated as being of ‘moderate satisfaction’ to ‘very high satisfaction’.
At an overall level, residents expressed a ‘moderately high’ level of satisfaction with the performance of
Council, with 54% of the respondents giving a rating of ‘satisfied’.
There were no significant differences between the ages or genders.
Q. How do you rate your overall satisfaction with the performance of Council across all areas of responsibility?
18-24 25-34 35-44 45-54 55-64 65-74 75+ Male Female Overall
Mean ratings 3.63 3.74 3.67 3.56 3.58 3.68 3.65 3.63 3.64 3.64
Mean ratings: 1 = not at all satisfied, 5 = very satisfied
3%
6%
28%
54%
10%
0% 20% 40% 60%
Not at all satisfied
Not very satisfied
Somewhat satisfied
Satisfied
Very satisfied
The Hills Shire Council
Community Research – draft report
October 2012 47
Overview
Using regression analysis, we identified the variables that have the greatest influence on driving positive
overall satisfaction with Council.
0.3
0.4
0.4
0.4
0.5
0.5
0.6
0.6
0.6
0.6
0.6
0.7
0.7
0.7
0.7
0.8
0.8
0.8
0.9
0.9
0.9
1.0
1.1
1.1
1.1
1.1
1.2
1.2
1.3
1.3
1.5
1.6
1.6
1.7
1.9
2.0
2.1
2.9
3.9
4.0
4.1
6.4
6.4
6.9
7.0
7.3
14.9
0.0 4.0 8.0 12.0 16.0
Library services
On call kerbside service
Garden organic collection
Services and facilities for older people
Air quality
Youth facilities
Support for volunteer organisations
Medium density housing developments
Emergency services
Preservation of sensitive environmental areas
Range of shopping facilities
Commercial building developments
Management of noise pollution
Domest garbage collection
Provision of public toilets
Council provision of local community events
Pet and animal management/control
Bushland regeneration and weed control
Water quality
Aquatic centre
Protection of heritage values and buildings
Recycling collection
Traffic parking enforcement
Health inspections of food premises, hairdressers, etc.
Town centre and village atmosphere
Streetscape appearance
Generating local employment opportunities
Playgrounds/play equipment
Ovals and sporting facilities
Low density housing developments
Maintaining the condition of footpaths and cycleways
Lighting of public areas
Community centres and community halls
Preservation of plants and animals in their natural*
Preservation of permanent open space
Parks and gardens
Recreation/Performing Arts Centre
Maintaining the condition of residential (local) roads
Access to your local Councillor
Image and presentation of Council information
Overall zoning of the Shire
Opportunities to have a 'real say'*
Council's decision-making
Long term planning for The Hills Shire
Communication with Council and access to information
Council's financial management
Council's conduct as a professional organisation
The Hills Shire Council
Community Research – draft report
October 2012 48
Improving Satisfaction with Council’s Performance
These 10 services/facilities are the key community priorities and by addressing these, The Hills Shire Council
will improve community satisfaction. The score assigned to each area indicates the percentage of
influence each attribute contributes to overall satisfaction with Council. For example, in the chart below
‘Council’s conduct as a professional organisation’ contributes 14.9% towards overall satisfaction.
Coles
89%
These Top 10 Indicators Account for over
60% of Overall Satisfaction with Council
2.9
3.9
4.0
4.1
6.4
6.4
6.9
7.0
7.3
14.9
0.00 2.00 4.00 6.00 8.00 10.00 12.00 14.00 16.00
Maintaining the condition of residential (local) roads
Access to your local Councillor
Image and presentation of Council information
Overall zoning of the Shire
Opportunities to have a 'real say in issues that affect you
Council's decision-making
Long term planning for The Hills Shire
Communication with Council and access to information
Council's financial management
Council's conduct as a professional organisation
Based on the regression analysis, Council performance in the areas listed above accounts for over 60% of
overall satisfaction.
Outcome
If The Hills Shire Council can address these core drivers, they will be able to improve residents’ overall
satisfaction with their performance.
Section B
Priority Issues
The Hills Shire Council
Community Research – draft report
October 2012 49
Things Most Valued About Living in The Shire
Summary
The predominant things that residents value about living in The Hills Shire are ‘open spaces and a clean
environment’, that ‘there is easy access to community facilities and services’ and ‘the community is
friendly and welcoming’.
Q. What are the things that you value most about living in The Hills Shire?
Word Frequency Tagging
Verbatim responses for this question were collated and entered into analytical software. This analysis ‘counts’ the
number of times a particular word or phrase appears and, based on the frequency of that word or phrase, a font size
is generated. The larger the font, the more frequently the word or sentiment is mentioned.
The Hills Shire Council
Community Research – draft report
October 2012 50
Things Most Valued About Living in The Shire
Q. What are the things that you value most about living in The Hills Shire?
Verbatim Responses
“Being surrounded by bushland and open space, and having all the parks in The Shire”
“Rural atmosphere that our community has with peace and quiet, close to all services yet natural bushland all
around”
“The bushland and nature, the area is a safe place to live I feel safe bushwalking on my own”
“Community festivals and the Town Centre”
“Community pride in the area”
“Friendly community - attitude of neighbours, good people generally”
“Friendly neighbours make me feel like part of the community”
“Having a friendly community and social events throughout the whole Hills Shire”
“Local businesses are friendly and trustworthy and give the Shire area a good atmosphere”
“The feeling of living in a very safe community”
“The multicultural aspect, there are many different nationalities that are welcome, festivals, language schools, etc”
“Vibrant culture scene in community events”
“Great friendly area to bring up our children as we are in close proximity to all facilities such as transport, schools,
shops and entertainment”
“The family atmosphere in the area, it's peaceful, easy to access the children's schools, it's getting denser though but
we have more bushland to balance the development”
“The family atmosphere and carefree lifestyle”
“Safety of the community and a nice community atmosphere”
“The high level of safety which is due to the tight knit community who look out for each other and the neighbourhood
in general”
The Hills Shire Council
Community Research – draft report
October 2012 51
Highest Priority Issues Facing The Hills Shire in the Next 4 Years
Summary
‘Lack of public transport’ and ‘traffic congestion and ease of access’ were nominated as the highest
priority issues facing The Hills Shire in the next 4 years.
Q. Thinking about the next 4 years, what do you think are the highest priority issues facing The Hills Shire and its
residents?
Word Frequency Tagging
Verbatim responses for this question were collated and entered into analytical software. This analysis ‘counts’ the
number of times a particular word or phrase appears and, based on the frequency of that word or phrase, a font size
is generated. The larger the font, the more frequently the word or sentiment is mentioned.
Verbatim Responses
“Traffic congestion needs to be addressed and resolved due to development and the population growth. With
already congested roads, it is my only concern about living out here”
“Traffic is far too congested, and the roads cannot cope with access into and out of the Hills area”
“Traffic management and the lack of space for increasing roads and developments”
“Building the Metro rail link”
“Establishing an integrated transport solution for the area”
“Get our public transport resolved, so as commuting is not so long”
“Improve the public transport facilities due growing population”
Introducing more accessible public transport options to the community
“Upgrading the roads to cater for more traffic”
“Traffic management particularly freeing the congestion of arterial roads and making easier access out of the area to
surrounding suburbs and the city”
Section C
Council Contact & Information
The Hills Shire Council
Community Research – draft report
October 2012 52
Council Contact & Information
Summary
Residents would prefer to conduct their Council related business either ‘online’ (55%) or by ‘telephone’
(53%).
Residents aged 18-44 were more likely to prefer ‘online’, whilst those aged 45-75+ preferred ‘telephone’.
Males were more likely to prefer ‘online’, whilst females were more likely to prefer telephone.
Q. How would you prefer to conduct your Council related business?
Nb: Due to a change in the terminology, comparisons could not be made to 2010.
2%
8%
12%
53%
55%
0% 20% 40% 60%
Other
Library
By mail
Telephone
Online
The Hills Shire Council
Community Research – draft report
October 2012 53
Council Contact & Information
Summary
The predominant methods for sourcing information from Council were the ‘Council website’, ‘personal
enquiry’, the ‘Hills News’, with the ‘rates notice’ and in the ‘Hills Shire Times’.
Males were more likely than females to source information from the ‘Rouse Hill Times’ and ‘e-newsletters’.
Q. Where do you look to find out information from Council?
1%
2%
3%
10%
12%
14%
14%
16%
21%
31%
53%
57%
59%
62%
71%
0% 20% 40% 60% 80%
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 rates notice
Hills News
Personal enquiry
Council website
The Hills Shire Council
Community Research – draft report
October 2012 54
Council Contact & Information
Summary
26% of residents receive Council’s ‘Hills Focus’ community magazine, 70% of whom read it.
Residents aged 25+ were more likely to acknowledge receiving the magazine.
Q. Do you receive Council’s ‘Hills Focus’ community
magazine in your letterbox?
Q. Do you read the ‘Hills Focus’?
Q. (If not read), why not?
I am not interested in the content 36
Insufficient time 28
It appears to be junk mail 5
I look online for information 2
I cannot read English 1
I was not aware of it 1
Yes
26%
No
74%
Yes
70%
No
30%
Section D
Living In The Hills Shire
The Hills Shire Council
Community Research – draft report
October 2012 55
Quality of Life
Summary
Overall, residents rated their quality of life as ‘very high’, with 54% rating it as ‘excellent’ and 38% as ‘good’.
This was consistent across the demographics.
Q. How would you rate your overall quality of life?
18-24 25-34 35-44 45-54 55-64 65-74 75+ Male Female Overall
Mean ratings 4.60 4.56 4.40 4.46 4.39 4.48 4.34 4.46 4.47 4.46
Mean ratings: 1 = very poor, 5 = excellent
0%
0%
7%
38%
54%
0% 20% 40% 60%
Very poor
Poor
Average
Good
Excellent
The Hills Shire Council
Community Research – draft report
October 2012 56
Agreement with Specific Statements
Summary
Residents expressed ‘extremely high’ levels of agreement with the statements ‘I feel safe moving about in
public spaces in The Hills during the day’, ‘The Hills Shire is a good place to live’ and ‘I prefer to shop in my
local community’. The results that could be compared to 2010 were statistically similar.
‘Very high’ levels of agreement were expressed with the statements ‘in an emergency a family member or
friend is available to assist me’ and ‘my neighbourhood has a friendly atmosphere’.
‘High’ levels of agreement were expressed with the statements ‘I feel part of my local community’ and ‘I
feel safe moving about in public spaces in The Hills at night’.
Residents aged 18-24, 25-34 and 65-74 were more likely to agree with the statement ‘The Hills Shire is a good
place to live’ than were those aged 35-44 (4.75, 4.71 & 4.77 v 4.50).
Residents aged 65+ were more likely to agree with the statement ‘I feel part of my local community’ than
were those aged 18-24 (4.20 & 4.27 v 3.75).
Residents aged 18-24 were more likely to agree with the statement ‘I feel safe moving about in public
spaces in The Hills during the day’ than were those aged 55-64 (4.80 v 4.58) and more likely than those
aged 45-54 to agree with the statement ‘in an emergency a family member or friend is available to assist
me’ (4.65 v 4.26).
Residents aged 18-34 were more likely to agree with the statement ‘I feel safe moving about in public
spaces in The Hills at night’ than were those aged 65+ (3.93 & 3.92 v 3.43 & 3.18).
Females were more likely to agree with the statements ‘I feel part of my local community’ and ‘I prefer to
shop in my local community’ than were males (4.06 v 3.87) (4.62 v 4.41), whilst males were more likely to
agree that ‘I feel safe moving about in public spaces in The Hills at night’ than were females (3.87 v 3.48).
The Hills Shire Council
Community Research – draft report
October 2012 57
Agreement with Specific Statements
Q. How strongly do you agree or disagree with the following statements:
Mean ratings
2012
4.67
4.63
4.52
4.40
4.21
3.97
3.67
2010
4.51
N/A
N/A
4.34
4.29
N/A
3.58
Mean ratings: 1 = strongly disagree, 5 = strongly disagree
8%
4%
28%
25%
13%
8%
7%
4%
3%
36%
34%
36%
24%
26%
26%
26%
24%
35%
46%
62%
65%
69%
71%
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
I feel safe moving about in public
spaces in The Hills at night
I feel part of my local community
My neighbourhood has a friendly
atmosphere
In an emergency a family
member or friend is available to
assist me
I prefer to shop in my local
community
The Hills Shire is a good place to
live
I feel safe moving about in public
spaces in The Hills during the day
Strongly disagree Disagree Neither Agree Strongly agree
The Hills Shire Council
Community Research – draft report
October 2012 58
Sustainability in the Home
Summary
Over a third of residents were likely to ‘bulk buy to reduce packaging waste’, have ‘compost or a worm
farm’ and ‘recycle water’. Whilst one in five have a ‘water tank’ or ‘solar power’.
21% of residents did not do or have any of the sustainable criteria.
These results were similar to 2010.
Residents aged 25-54 were more likely to partake of ‘bulk buying to reduce packaging waste’ than were
those aged 55+ (55% 62% & 57% v 37%, 29% & 22%).
Residents aged 18-24 were more likely to state they don’t do or have any of the sustainable criteria than
were those aged 45-54 (30% v 14%).
Males were more likely to have a ‘water tank’ than were females.
Q. Which of the following, if any, do you have, or do, at home in relation to being more sustainable?
2010
50%
34%
31%
22%
17%
1%
21%
22%
24%
35%
40%
47%
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50%
None of the above
Solar power
Water tank
Recycle water
Compost or worm farm
Bulk buying to reduce package waste
Section E
Access to Services
The Hills Shire Council
Community Research – draft report
October 2012 59
Access to Services
Summary
There were ‘very high’ levels of agreement that there is ease of access to ‘local shops’, ‘schools’, ‘major
shopping centres’, ‘health and medical services’ and ‘parks, open spaces and bushland’, whilst there were
‘high’ levels of agreement that there is ease of access to ‘childcare’ and ‘sporting facilities’. The remaining
facilities received ‘moderate’ to ‘moderately high’ levels of agreement for being easy to access.
With the exception of ‘childcare’, which remained statistically similar, agreement with all criteria had
significantly improved since 2010.
Residents aged 45-54 were least likely to agree that it was easy to access facilities in the area, particularly
for the following:
Major shopping centres – than were 65-54 y/o (4.22 v 4.53)
Health and medical services – than were 65-74 & 75+ y/o (4.15 v4.54 & 4.59)
Childcare – than were 25-34 & 35-44 y/o (3.69 v.4.14 & 4.10)
Schools – than were 18-24 y/o (4.23 v 4.60)
Residents aged 18 – 55 y/o were less likely to agree that there is ease of access to ‘public transport’ than
were those aged 65+ (3.00, 2.91, 2.99, 2.70 & 2.95 v 3.58 & 3.57).
Residents aged 18-34 & 45-54 were less likely to agree that there is ease of access to ‘entertainment or
cultural facilities than were those aged 65-74 (3.25 & 3.21 v 3.70).
Residents aged 18-24 were less likely to agree that there is ease of access to ‘community facilities’ than
were those aged 65-74 (3.62 v 4.01).
Females were more likely to agree that there is ease of access to ‘my place of work’, ‘local shops’ and
‘childcare’ than were males (3.82 v 3.48) (4.53 v 4.42) (4.03 v 3.84), whilst males were more likely to agree
that there is ease of access to ‘public transport’ than were females (3.09 v 2.91).
The Hills Shire Council
Community Research – draft report
October 2012 60
Access to Services
Q. In The Hills Shire I find it easy to access:
Mean ratings
2012
4.48
4.39
4.38
4.29
4.20
3.94
3.90
3.77
3.65
3.40
3.25
3.00
2010
4.18
4.23
3.95
3.89
4.16
3.90
3.69
N/A
3.04
3.19
2.86
2.76
Mean ratings: 1 = strongly disagree, 5 = strongly agree
19%
11%
5%
13%
5%
19%
14%
11%
9%
6%
5%
6%
25%
33%
40%
18%
29%
23%
22%
12%
13%
12%
11%
8%
20%
22%
30%
20%
40%
41%
26%
40%
30%
27%
28%
26%
18%
20%
15%
40%
24%
29%
41%
43%
52%
57%
58%
63%
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
Public transport
Tertiary institutions (TAFE or university)
Entertainment or cultural facilities
My place of work
Community facilities
Sporting facilities
Childcare
Parks, open spaces and bushland
Health and medical services
Major shopping centres
Schools
Local shops
Strongly disagree Disagree Neither Agree Strongly agree
Section F
Working Inside/Outside The Shire
The Hills Shire Council
Community Research – draft report
October 2012 61
Working Inside/Outside The Hills Shire
Summary
30% of residents work in The Hills Shire, whilst 44% do not, the remainder of surveyed residents did not work,
this result is similar to 2010.
Female residents were significantly more likely than were males to work locally.
Of those residents who do work, but do not work locally, 38% stated their reason for not doing so as the
‘company is based outside of the local area’. A further 27% stated that there were ‘no jobs available
locally’ and 26% that ‘jobs in my industry/specialisation were not available locally’.
Q. Do you work in The Hills Shire?
Q. What is the main reason that you do not work locally?
Yes
30%
No
43%
I don't
work
27%
1%
2%
6%
26%
27%
38%
0% 10% 20% 30% 40%
Other
Prefer to work outside of The Hills Shire
Retained old job when moved into The Hills Shire
Job in my industry/specialisation not available locally
No jobs available locally
Company based outside of local area
The Hills Shire Council
Community Research – draft report
October 2012 62
Working Inside/Outside The Hills Shire
Summary
41% of residents thought it likely that they would use the metro train to travel to work and a further 10%
thought they may, whilst 48% thought it unlikely. This result is similar to 2010.
Residents aged 18-24 were significantly more likely to affirm their future use of the metro train than were
those aged 25-64 (60% v 44%, 39%, 44% and 23%).
Residents aged 18-24 were likely to spend significantly more time travelling to work than were their older
counterparts.
Q. As you may be aware, the NSW State Government is planning to construct an underground metro rail system
that will link Rouse Hill to the Sydney CBD. Do you think that you will utilise this metro train to travel to work?
Yes
41%
No
48%
Maybe
10%
Can't say
1%
The Hills Shire Council
Community Research – draft report
October 2012 63
Working Inside/Outside The Hills Shire
Summary
On average, residents in The Hills travel just over an hour a day for their employment.
Young people aged 18-24 travel significantly longer to and from their workplace.
Q. On average, how many minutes does it take you in total, to travel to and from your usual workplace?
18-24 25-34 35-44 45-54 55-64 65-74 75+ Male Female Overall
Mean travel time
in minutes 91.7 69.2 67.8 62.3 63.5 N/A N/A 79.8 58.3 69.0
12%
29%
28%
32%
0% 10% 20% 30% 40%
More than 2 hours
1 to 2 hours
31 minutes to 1 hour
Up to 30 minutes
The Hills Shire Council
Community Research – draft report
October 2012 64
Working Inside/Outside The Hills Shire
Q. How do you think Public Transport can be improved and in what time frame?
Improvement Time frame N=622
Increased bus services
As soon as possible 24%
Within a year 14%
Within the next 2 - 4 years 4%
Within the next 5 years 2%
Within the next 10 years 0%
Development of a train line
As soon as possible 19%
Within a year 2%
Within the next 2 - 4 years 9%
Within the next 5 years 8%
Within the next 10 years 5%
Improved traffic management
As soon as possible 3%
Within a year 1%
Within the next 2 - 4 years 1%
Within the next 5 years 1%
Within the next 10 years 0%
Increased access to public transport
As soon as possible 3%
Within a year 1%
Within the next 2 - 4 years 0%
Integration of transport facilities
As soon as possible 1%
Within a year 0%
Within the next 10 years 0%
Reduced cost of public transport
As soon as possible 1%
Within the next 2 - 4 years 0%
Within the next 5 years 0%
Introduce a shuttle bus service As soon as possible 0%
Easier access to timetables Within a year 0%
Increase in available taxis Within the next 5 years 0%
Nb: As the percentages have been rounded to the nearest percentage, the criteria with counts of 3 or
less are shown as 0%.
Appendix A
Data and Correlation Tables
The Hills Shire Council
Community Research – draft report
October 2012 65
Importance/Satisfaction – Creating Vibrant Communities
Importance 18-24 25-34 35-44 45-54 55-64 65-74 75+
Library services 3.68 3.26 3.79 3.28 2.92 2.84 2.72
Community centres and community halls 3.10 2.92 3.19 3.03 2.62 2.45 2.51
Youth facilities, e.g. skate parks 2.48 2.95 3.08 2.53 2.08 2.01 1.84
Services and facilities for older people 3.30 2.91 3.09 3.14 3.32 3.63 3.72
Emergency services, e.g. SES and Rural Fire
Service 4.15 4.62 4.52 4.39 4.38 4.43 4.48
Support for volunteer organisations 3.68 3.86 3.97 3.79 3.87 4.01 3.92
Council provision of local community events 3.35 3.74 3.74 3.59 3.42 3.44 3.25
Playgrounds/play equipment 3.55 4.29 4.45 3.56 3.57 3.31 2.72
Ovals and sporting facilities 4.35 4.24 4.35 4.19 3.82 3.63 3.02
Lighting of public areas 4.25 4.53 4.28 4.26 4.26 4.19 4.08
Provision of public toilets 3.65 4.06 4.03 3.97 3.82 3.87 3.49
Parks and gardens 3.98 4.24 4.23 4.20 4.25 4.13 4.38
Aquatic centre 3.43 3.44 3.76 3.45 3.16 3.11 2.70
Recreation/Performing Arts Centre 3.43 2.94 3.34 3.26 3.34 3.17 3.12
Importance Male Female Overall
Library services 3.06 3.52 3.29
Community centres and community halls 2.75 3.05 2.90
Youth facilities, e.g. skate parks 2.45 2.61 2.53
Services and facilities for older people 3.22 3.24 3.23
Emergency services, e.g. SES and Rural Fire Service 4.34 4.51 4.43
Support for volunteer organisations 3.71 4.02 3.87
Council provision of local community events 3.40 3.69 3.55
Playgrounds/play equipment 3.69 3.85 3.77
Ovals and sporting facilities 4.05 4.08 4.07
Lighting of public areas 4.16 4.40 4.28
Provision of public toilets 3.64 4.13 3.89
Parks and gardens 4.03 4.35 4.20
Aquatic centre 3.21 3.55 3.38
Recreation/Performing Arts Centre 3.04 3.45 3.25
Mean ratings: 1 = not at all important, 5 = very important
= A significantly higher level of importance (by group)
= A significantly lower level of importance (by group)
The Hills Shire Council
Community Research – draft report
October 2012 66
Importance/Satisfaction – Creating Vibrant Communities
Satisfaction 18-24 25-34 35-44 45-54 55-64 65-74 75+
Library services 4.00 4.06 4.35 4.25 4.35 4.41 4.41
Community centres and community halls 4.07 3.71 3.81 3.96 3.76 4.18 4.09
Youth facilities, e.g. skate parks 3.55 3.21 3.62 3.43 3.24 3.73 4.11
Services and facilities for older people 3.56 3.42 3.79 3.54 3.59 3.98 4.33
Emergency services, e.g. SES and Rural Fire
Service 4.16 4.35 4.31 4.34 4.40 4.57 4.74
Support for volunteer organisations 3.70 3.97 3.95 3.91 3.97 4.39 4.44
Council provision of local community events 3.81 3.87 3.80 3.75 3.83 4.09 4.48
Playgrounds/play equipment 3.62 3.70 3.75 3.66 3.80 4.12 4.45
Ovals and sporting facilities 4.00 3.82 3.87 3.83 3.94 4.30 4.50
Lighting of public areas 3.53 3.40 3.43 3.23 3.56 3.70 3.88
Provision of public toilets 3.20 2.91 2.94 2.86 3.09 3.41 3.41
Parks and gardens 3.67 3.85 3.84 3.74 3.89 4.09 4.35
Aquatic centre 4.19 3.26 3.49 3.46 3.70 3.93 4.11
Recreation/Performing Arts Centre 3.00 3.50 3.62 3.67 3.42 3.76 4.39
Satisfaction Male Female Overall
Library services 4.18 4.29 4.24
Community centres and community halls 3.88 3.90 3.89
Youth facilities, e.g. skate parks 3.61 3.37 3.48
Services and facilities for older people 3.81 3.60 3.70
Emergency services, e.g. SES and Rural Fire Service 4.32 4.41 4.37
Support for volunteer organisations 4.13 3.89 4.00
Council provision of local community events 3.94 3.81 3.87
Playgrounds/play equipment 3.82 3.73 3.77
Ovals and sporting facilities 3.97 3.90 3.94
Lighting of public areas 3.53 3.41 3.47
Provision of public toilets 3.08 3.00 3.03
Parks and gardens 3.88 3.86 3.87
Aquatic centre 3.76 3.49 3.61
Recreation/Performing Arts Centre 3.52 3.58 3.55
Mean ratings: 1 = not at all satisfied, 5 = very satisfied
= A significantly higher level of satisfaction (by group)
= A significantly lower level of satisfaction (by group)
The Hills Shire Council
Community Research – draft report
October 2012 67
Importance/Satisfaction – Creating Vibrant Communities
216 22% 103 10% 157 16% 220 22% 304 30% 1000 100%
218 22% 149 15% 294 29% 193 19% 147 15% 1000 100%
385 38% 143 14% 185 18% 132 13% 156 16% 1000 100%
208 21% 112 11% 192 19% 221 22% 268 27% 1000 100%
40 4% 18 2% 70 7% 219 22% 653 65% 1000 100%
75 8% 65 6% 183 18% 272 27% 405 40% 1000 100%
85 9% 90 9% 278 28% 284 28% 263 26% 1000 100%
128 13% 64 6% 141 14% 241 24% 426 43% 1000 100%
74 7% 47 5% 115 12% 268 27% 496 50% 1000 100%
35 3% 29 3% 116 12% 260 26% 561 56% 1000 100%
66 7% 56 6% 217 22% 242 24% 419 42% 1000 100%
21 2% 30 3% 153 15% 324 32% 472 47% 1000 100%
162 16% 99 10% 230 23% 212 21% 298 30% 1000 100%
151 15% 117 12% 273 27% 251 25% 207 21% 1000 100%
Library services
Community centres and
community halls
Youth facilities, e.g. skate
parks
Services and facilities for
older people
Emergency services, e.g.
SES and Rural Fire Service
Support for volunteer
organisations
Council provision of local
community events
Playgrounds/play
equipment
Ovals and sporting
facilities
Lighting of public areas
Provision of public toilets
Parks and gardens
Aquatic centre
Recreation/Performing Arts
Centre
N Row %
Not at all
important
N Row %
Not very
important
N Row %
Somewhat
important
N Row %
Important
N Row %
Very important
N Row %
Total
3 1% 12 2% 55 11% 232 45% 212 41% 513 100%
8 2% 14 4% 71 22% 142 44% 88 27% 322 100%
18 6% 37 14% 69 25% 97 36% 53 19% 274 100%
13 3% 23 5% 134 32% 162 38% 90 21% 422 100%
4 0% 9 1% 76 10% 299 38% 391 50% 779 100%
8 1% 19 3% 144 23% 248 40% 205 33% 623 100%
11 2% 32 6% 106 20% 252 47% 132 25% 534 100%
22 3% 59 9% 142 22% 254 39% 177 27% 653 100%
20 3% 39 5% 150 20% 303 40% 241 32% 754 100%
29 4% 107 13% 280 34% 256 31% 145 18% 817 100%
54 8% 150 23% 237 37% 122 19% 79 12% 641 100%
14 2% 34 4% 179 23% 385 48% 183 23% 794 100%
38 8% 43 9% 112 23% 170 35% 122 25% 484 100%
23 5% 33 8% 132 31% 168 39% 74 17% 429 100%
Library services
Community centres and
community halls
Youth facilities, e.g. skate
parks
Services and facilities for
older people
Emergency services, e.g.
SES and Rural Fire Service
Support for volunteer
organisations
Council provision of local
community events
Playgrounds/play
equipment
Ovals and sporting
facilities
Lighting of public areas
Provision of public toilets
Parks and gardens
Aquatic centre
Recreation/Performing Arts
Centre
N Row %
Not at all
satisfied
N Row %
Not very
satisfied
N Row %
Somewhat
satisfied
N Row %
Satisfied
N Row %
Very satisfied
N Row %
Total
The Hills Shire Council
Community Research – draft report
October 2012 68
Importance/Satisfaction – Valuing Our Environment
Importance 18-24 25-34 35-44 45-54 55-64 65-74 75+
Preservation of sensitive environmental areas 3.90 3.92 4.00 4.08 4.05 4.05 4.09
Preservation of permanent open space 3.60 4.11 4.26 4.22 4.31 4.30 4.30
Water quality 4.33 4.62 4.60 4.37 4.45 4.41 4.41
Air quality 4.43 4.65 4.63 4.52 4.62 4.52 4.54
Management of noise pollution 4.13 4.26 4.26 4.18 4.26 4.21 4.34
Preservation of plants and animals in their
natural habitat 4.13 4.15 4.30 4.22 4.25 4.26 4.31
Bushland regeneration and weed control 3.65 4.20 4.20 4.20 4.25 4.34 4.39
Domestic garbage collection 4.50 4.79 4.75 4.73 4.73 4.84 4.88
Recycling collection 4.53 4.79 4.76 4.70 4.73 4.83 4.92
Garden organic collection 3.93 4.38 4.54 4.45 4.48 4.66 4.81
On call kerbside service 4.05 4.26 4.42 4.50 4.50 4.51 4.55
Importance Male Female Overall
Preservation of sensitive environmental areas 3.86 4.15 4.01
Preservation of permanent open space 4.08 4.24 4.16
Water quality 4.36 4.57 4.47
Air quality 4.48 4.65 4.57
Management of noise pollution 4.14 4.31 4.23
Preservation of plants and animals in their natural habitat 4.04 4.41 4.23
Bushland regeneration and weed control 4.04 4.28 4.16
Domestic garbage collection 4.71 4.75 4.73
Recycling collection 4.70 4.76 4.73
Garden organic collection 4.34 4.53 4.44
On call kerbside service 4.33 4.46 4.40
Mean ratings: 1 = not at all important, 5 = very important
= A significantly higher level of importance (by group)
= A significantly lower level of importance (by group)
The Hills Shire Council
Community Research – draft report
October 2012 69
Importance/Satisfaction – Valuing Our Environment
Satisfaction 18-24 25-34 35-44 45-54 55-64 65-74 75+
Preservation of sensitive environmental areas 3.54 3.84 3.74 3.66 3.67 3.94 4.15
Preservation of permanent open space 3.30 3.68 3.65 3.51 3.53 3.84 4.23
Water quality 4.00 4.18 3.92 3.72 3.79 4.12 4.31
Air quality 4.28 4.21 3.93 3.91 3.97 4.26 4.20
Management of noise pollution 3.65 3.63 3.75 3.24 3.49 3.63 3.75
Preservation of plants and animals in their
natural habitat 3.93 3.92 3.75 3.52 3.72 3.95 4.23
Bushland regeneration and weed control 3.90 3.55 3.55 3.31 3.54 3.74 4.10
Domestic garbage collection 4.23 4.10 4.28 4.28 4.48 4.73 4.85
Recycling collection 4.57 4.29 4.32 4.28 4.55 4.69 4.88
Garden organic collection 4.60 4.33 4.19 4.11 4.54 4.58 4.80
On call kerbside service 4.04 4.00 4.14 3.73 3.80 4.22 4.33
Satisfaction Male Female Overall
Preservation of sensitive environmental areas 3.79 3.71 3.75
Preservation of permanent open space 3.70 3.56 3.63
Water quality 3.96 3.94 3.95
Air quality 4.15 3.98 4.06
Management of noise pollution 3.57 3.56 3.56
Preservation of plants and animals in their natural habitat 3.85 3.74 3.79
Bushland regeneration and weed control 3.58 3.59 3.59
Domestic garbage collection 4.42 4.31 4.36
Recycling collection 4.46 4.43 4.45
Garden organic collection 4.39 4.35 4.37
On call kerbside service 4.04 3.93 3.98
Mean ratings: 1 = not at all satisfied, 5 = very satisfied
= A significantly higher level of satisfaction (by group)
= A significantly lower level of satisfaction (by group)
The Hills Shire Council
Community Research – draft report
October 2012 70
Importance/Satisfaction – Valuing Our Environment
49 5% 45 4% 178 18% 301 30% 426 43% 1000 100%
31 3% 30 3% 167 17% 289 29% 483 48% 1000 100%
24 2% 16 2% 95 9% 196 20% 669 67% 1000 100%
18 2% 8 1% 81 8% 175 17% 718 72% 1000 100%
26 3% 28 3% 148 15% 292 29% 506 51% 1000 100%
28 3% 27 3% 153 15% 270 27% 522 52% 1000 100%
28 3% 40 4% 155 15% 292 29% 485 48% 1000 100%
5 1% 3 0% 40 4% 161 16% 792 79% 1000 100%
5 1% 4 0% 36 4% 165 16% 791 79% 1000 100%
38 4% 28 3% 83 8% 159 16% 692 69% 1000 100%
26 3% 25 3% 111 11% 202 20% 636 64% 1000 100%
Preservation of sensitive
environmental areas
Preservation of
permanent open space
Water quality
Air quality
Management of noise
pollution
Preservation of plants
and animals in their
natural habitat
Bushland regeneration
and weed control
Domest garbage
collection
Recycling collection
Garden organice
collection
On call kerbside service
N Row %
Not at all
important
N Row %
Not very
important
N Row %
Somewhat
important
N Row %
Important
N Row %
Very important
N Row %
Total
13 2% 49 7% 178 25% 323 46% 139 20% 703 100%
27 4% 68 9% 223 29% 283 37% 159 21% 760 100%
11 1% 62 7% 189 22% 287 34% 303 36% 852 100%
15 2% 38 4% 154 17% 347 39% 334 38% 889 100%
38 5% 97 12% 215 27% 262 33% 179 23% 791 100%
14 2% 49 6% 219 28% 298 38% 196 25% 775 100%
30 4% 75 10% 223 30% 274 36% 152 20% 754 100%
16 2% 41 4% 86 9% 247 26% 558 59% 947 100%
17 2% 27 3% 62 7% 255 27% 592 62% 954 100%
26 3% 32 4% 59 7% 214 25% 514 61% 845 100%
60 7% 54 7% 122 15% 183 22% 400 49% 820 100%
Preservation of sensitive
environmental areas
Preservation of
permanent open space
Water quality
Air quality
Management of noise
pollution
Preservation of plants
and animals in their
natural habitat
Bushland regeneration
and weed control
Domest garbage
collection
Recycling collection
Garden organice
collection
On call kerbside service
N Row %
Not at all
satisfied
N Row %
Not very
satisfied
N Row %
Somewhat
satisfied
N Row %
Satisfied
N Row %
Very satisfied
N Row %
Total
The Hills Shire Council
Community Research – draft report
October 2012 71
Importance/Satisfaction – Balanced Urban Growth
Importance 18-24 25-34 35-44 45-54 55-64 65-74 75+
Maintaining the condition of residential (local)
roads 4.63 4.74 4.70 4.70 4.65 4.63 4.56
Maintaining the condition of footpaths and
cycleways 4.33 4.58 4.54 4.38 4.39 4.45 4.53
Traffic parking enforcement 3.38 3.29 3.55 3.48 3.60 3.90 4.06
Overall zoning of the Shire 3.60 3.95 3.89 4.10 4.18 4.23 3.85
Range of shopping facilities 4.23 4.39 4.27 4.24 4.36 4.41 4.65
Protection of heritage values and buildings 3.65 3.89 4.07 3.99 4.14 4.26 4.33
Low density housing developments, e.g. single
houses, villas 3.68 4.08 3.99 3.92 4.13 4.21 4.13
Medium density housing developments, e.g.
apartments 3.03 3.06 2.90 3.07 3.24 3.13 3.34
Streetscape appearance 4.10 4.15 4.22 4.12 4.31 4.23 4.32
Health inspections of food premises,
hairdressers, etc. 4.38 4.42 4.37 4.37 4.50 4.37 4.13
Pet and animal management/control 3.73 4.12 4.03 4.02 4.09 4.23 3.95
Importance Male Female Overall
Maintaining the condition of residential (local) roads 4.58 4.77 4.68
Maintaining the condition of footpaths and cycleways 4.28 4.62 4.45
Traffic parking enforcement 3.36 3.73 3.55
Overall zoning of the Shire 3.92 4.05 3.99
Range of shopping facilities 4.21 4.44 4.33
Protection of heritage values and buildings 3.87 4.17 4.02
Low density housing developments, e.g. single houses, villas 3.90 4.09 4.00
Medium density housing developments, e.g. apartments 3.06 3.10 3.08
Streetscape appearance 4.11 4.28 4.20
Health inspections of food premises, hairdressers, etc. 4.27 4.50 4.39
Pet and animal management/control 3.85 4.20 4.03
Mean ratings: 1 = not at all important, 5 = very important
= A significantly higher level of importance (by group)
= A significantly lower level of importance (by group)
The Hills Shire Council
Community Research – draft report
October 2012 72
Importance/Satisfaction – Balanced Urban Growth
Satisfaction 18-24 25-34 35-44 45-54 55-64 65-74 75+
Maintaining the condition of residential (local)
roads 2.95 2.97 3.05 2.79 2.89 3.19 3.30
Maintaining the condition of footpaths and
cycleways 3.22 3.13 3.28 3.04 3.19 3.36 3.30
Traffic parking enforcement 3.79 3.57 3.31 3.25 3.37 3.41 3.28
Overall zoning of the Shire 3.89 3.77 3.48 3.32 3.20 3.63 3.83
Range of shopping facilities 4.21 4.23 4.19 4.16 4.19 4.37 4.57
Protection of heritage values and buildings 4.04 4.02 3.80 3.66 3.60 3.99 4.14
Low density housing developments, e.g. single
houses, villas 3.45 3.54 3.31 3.27 3.19 3.45 3.54
Medium density housing developments, e.g.
apartments 3.40 3.73 3.08 3.04 3.19 3.38 3.68
Streetscape appearance 3.97 3.89 3.60 3.43 3.46 3.57 3.87
Health inspections of food premises,
hairdressers, etc. 3.91 3.84 3.77 3.63 3.68 3.79 3.83
Pet and animal management/control 3.65 3.87 3.75 3.65 3.86 3.79 3.96
Satisfaction Male Female Overall
Maintaining the condition of residential (local) roads 3.06 2.90 2.97
Maintaining the condition of footpaths and cycleways 3.36 3.06 3.20
Traffic parking enforcement 3.49 3.31 3.39
Overall zoning of the Shire 3.53 3.47 3.50
Range of shopping facilities 4.20 4.27 4.24
Protection of heritage values and buildings 3.90 3.79 3.84
Low density housing developments, e.g. single houses, villas 3.43 3.29 3.36
Medium density housing developments, e.g. apartments 3.34 3.25 3.30
Streetscape appearance 3.70 3.58 3.64
Health inspections of food premises, hairdressers, etc. 3.82 3.70 3.76
Pet and animal management/control 3.79 3.76 3.77
Mean ratings: 1 = not at all satisfied, 5 = very satisfied
= A significantly higher level of satisfaction (by group)
= A significantly lower level of satisfaction (by group)
The Hills Shire Council
Community Research – draft report
October 2012 73
Importance/Satisfaction – Balanced Urban Growth
5 0% 12 1% 38 4% 193 19% 752 75% 1000 100%
13 1% 21 2% 94 9% 244 24% 627 63% 1000 100%
96 10% 82 8% 307 31% 208 21% 307 31% 1000 100%
46 5% 43 4% 229 23% 244 24% 438 44% 1000 100%
11 1% 16 2% 132 13% 316 32% 525 53% 1000 100%
30 3% 59 6% 201 20% 281 28% 429 43% 1000 100%
37 4% 68 7% 196 20% 254 25% 445 44% 1000 100%
154 15% 144 14% 344 34% 183 18% 175 17% 1000 100%
14 1% 24 2% 149 15% 372 37% 440 44% 1000 100%
20 2% 30 3% 108 11% 227 23% 615 62% 1000 100%
25 2% 59 6% 210 21% 276 28% 431 43% 1000 100%
Maintaining the condition
of residential (local) roads
Maintaining the condition
of footpaths and
cycleways
Traffic parking
enforcement
Overall zoning of the Sh ire
Range of shopping
facilities
Protection of heritage
values and buildings
Low density housing
developments, e.g. single
houses, vil las
Medium density housing
developments, e.g.
apartments
Streetscape appearance
Health inspections of food
premises, hairdressers, etc.
Pet and animal
management/control
N Row %
Not at all
important
N Row %
Not very
important
N Row %
Somewhat
important
N Row %
Important
N Row %
Very important
N Row %
Total
120 13% 192 20% 331 35% 198 21% 105 11% 945 100%
72 8% 152 18% 293 34% 232 27% 118 14% 867 100%
42 8% 66 13% 147 29% 153 30% 99 19% 508 100%
40 6% 85 13% 179 27% 229 34% 136 20% 670 100%
3 0% 32 4% 96 12% 337 40% 366 44% 834 100%
21 3% 33 5% 165 24% 295 42% 181 26% 695 100%
49 7% 103 15% 216 31% 203 29% 123 18% 694 100%
31 9% 59 17% 100 28% 100 28% 62 18% 351 100%
18 2% 79 10% 240 30% 308 38% 161 20% 805 100%
14 2% 49 6% 214 28% 315 41% 169 22% 761 100%
30 4% 44 6% 147 22% 291 43% 168 25% 680 100%
Maintaining the condition
of residential (local) roads
Maintaining the condition
of footpaths and
cycleways
Traffic parking
enforcement
Overall zoning of the Sh ire
Range of shopping
facilities
Protection of heritage
values and buildings
Low density housing
developments, e.g. single
houses, vil las
Medium density housing
developments, e.g.
apartments
Streetscape appearance
Health inspections of food
premises, hairdressers, etc.
Pet and animal
management/control
N Row %
Not at all
satisfied
N Row %
Not very
satisfied
N Row %
Somewhat
satisfied
N Row %
Satisfied
N Row %
Very satisfied
N Row %
Total
The Hills Shire Council
Community Research – draft report
October 2012 74
Importance/Satisfaction – Building A Modern Local Economy
Importance 18-24 25-34 35-44 45-54 55-64 65-74 75+
Town centre and village atmosphere 3.95 4.18 4.06 4.06 4.09 4.16 4.31
Commercial building developments, e.g.
industry, shopping centres, offices 3.55 3.79 3.66 3.63 3.90 3.69 3.75
Generating local employment opportunities 4.30 4.41 4.32 4.40 4.35 4.22 3.95
Importance Male Female Overall
Town centre and village atmosphere 3.98 4.20 4.09
Commercial building developments, e.g. industry, shopping centres, offices 3.66 3.75 3.71
Generating local employment opportunities 4.18 4.45 4.32
Satisfaction 18-24 25-34 35-44 45-54 55-64 65-74 75+
Town centre and village atmosphere 3.96 4.00 3.90 3.74 3.78 4.02 4.08
Commercial building developments, e.g.
industry, shopping centres, offices 4.05 3.78 3.83 3.72 3.67 3.94 3.96
Generating local employment opportunities 3.56 3.38 3.28 3.22 3.26 3.51 3.78
Satisfaction Male Female Overall
Town centre and village atmosphere 3.87 3.90 3.89
Commercial building developments, e.g. industry, shopping centres, offices 3.83 3.80 3.81
Generating local employment opportunities 3.44 3.28 3.36
Mean ratings: 1 = not at all important/satisfied, 5 = very important/satisfied
= A significantly higher level of importance/satisfaction (by group)
= A significantly lower level of importance/satisfaction (by group)
The Hills Shire Council
Community Research – draft report
October 2012 75
Importance/Satisfaction – Building A Modern Local Economy
19 2% 41 4% 196 20% 314 31% 429 43% 1000 100%
53 5% 75 7% 275 27% 306 31% 292 29% 1000 100%
32 3% 27 3% 121 12% 229 23% 591 59% 1000 100%
Town centre and village
atmosphere
Commercial building
developments, e.g.
industry, shopping centres,
offices
Generating local
employment opportunities
N Row %
Not at all
important
N Row %
Not very
important
N Row %
Somewhat
important
N Row %
Important
N Row %
Very important
N Row %
Total
15 2% 46 6% 146 20% 326 44% 201 27% 734 100%
11 2% 29 5% 163 28% 240 41% 144 25% 587 100%
28 4% 101 13% 313 40% 247 32% 96 12% 784 100%
Town centre and village
atmosphere
Commercial building
developments, e.g.
industry, shopping centres,
offices
Generating local
employment opportunities
N Row %
Not at all
satisfied
N Row %
Not very
satisfied
N Row %
Somewhat
satisfied
N Row %
Satisfied
N Row %
Very satisfied
N Row %
Total
The Hills Shire Council
Community Research – draft report
October 2012 76
Importance/Satisfaction – Proactive Leadership
Importance 18-24 25-34 35-44 45-54 55-64 65-74 75+
Council's conduct as a professional
organisation 4.30 4.47 4.37 4.35 4.52 4.49 4.22
Opportunities to have a 'real say' on issues
that affect your life 4.43 4.41 4.32 4.41 4.41 4.44 4.20
Council's decision-making, e.g. objectivity 4.10 4.27 4.18 4.23 4.31 4.32 4.08
Communication with Council and access to
information 4.20 4.45 4.40 4.33 4.42 4.44 4.33
Council's financial management 4.00 4.36 4.30 4.26 4.47 4.51 4.39
Long term planning for The Hills Shire 4.25 4.53 4.62 4.51 4.55 4.64 4.46
Image and presentation of Council
information 3.60 3.68 3.69 3.69 3.90 4.17 4.13
Access to your local Councillor 4.03 3.73 3.77 3.74 4.04 4.05 4.22
Importance Male Female Overall
Council's conduct as a professional organisation 4.33 4.47 4.40
Opportunities to have a 'real say' on issues that affect your life 4.24 4.52 4.38
Council's decision-making, e.g. objectivity 4.15 4.29 4.22
Communication with Council and access to information 4.26 4.48 4.37
Council's financial management 4.30 4.34 4.32
Long term planning for The Hills Shire 4.44 4.60 4.52
Image and presentation of Council information 3.72 3.85 3.79
Access to your local Councillor 3.78 3.99 3.89
Mean ratings: 1 = not at all important, 5 = very important
= A significantly higher level of importance (by group)
= A significantly lower level of importance (by group)
The Hills Shire Council
Community Research – draft report
October 2012 77
Importance/Satisfaction – Proactive Leadership
Satisfaction 18-24 25-34 35-44 45-54 55-64 65-74 75+
Council's conduct as a professional
organisation 3.56 3.65 3.51 3.38 3.28 3.42 3.72
Opportunities to have a 'real say' on issues
that affect your life 3.13 3.39 3.15 3.11 3.10 3.32 3.64
Council's decision-making, e.g. objectivity 3.45 3.44 3.05 2.88 3.01 3.22 3.36
Communication with Council and access to
information 3.43 3.64 3.64 3.50 3.52 3.74 3.65
Council's financial management 3.62 3.53 3.26 3.07 3.18 3.47 3.65
Long term planning for The Hills Shire 3.23 3.47 3.11 2.92 3.14 3.29 3.69
Image and presentation of Council
information 3.71 3.95 3.57 3.43 3.57 3.63 3.77
Access to your local Councillor 3.39 3.41 3.47 3.14 3.23 3.50 3.66
Satisfaction Male Female Overall
Council's conduct as a professional organisation 3.51 3.43 3.47
Opportunities to have a 'real say' on issues that affect your life 3.30 3.13 3.21
Council's decision-making, e.g. objectivity 3.18 3.11 3.14
Communication with Council and access to information 3.58 3.57 3.58
Council's financial management 3.49 3.17 3.33
Long term planning for The Hills Shire 3.26 3.13 3.19
Image and presentation of Council information 3.74 3.54 3.63
Access to your local Councillor 3.40 3.32 3.36
Mean ratings: 1 = not at all satisfied, 5 = very satisfied
= A significantly higher level of satisfaction (by group)
= A significantly lower level of satisfaction (by group)
The Hills Shire Council
Community Research – draft report
October 2012 78
Importance/Satisfaction – Proactive Leadership
14 1% 18 2% 119 12% 250 25% 598 60% 1000 100%
15 2% 25 2% 135 13% 209 21% 616 62% 1000 100%
23 2% 24 2% 180 18% 251 25% 522 52% 1000 100%
7 1% 19 2% 132 13% 279 28% 563 56% 1000 100%
23 2% 41 4% 133 13% 197 20% 605 61% 1000 100%
18 2% 24 2% 74 7% 189 19% 695 70% 1000 100%
37 4% 79 8% 268 27% 294 29% 323 32% 1000 100%
53 5% 73 7% 217 22% 245 24% 412 41% 1000 100%
Council's conduct as a
professional organisation
Opportun ities to have a
'real say' on issues that
affect your l ife
Council's decision-making,
e.g. objectivity
Communication with
Council and access to
information
Council's financial
management
Long term planning for The
Hills Shire
Image and presentation
of Council information
Access to your local
Councillor
N Row %
Not at all
important
N Row %
Not very
important
N Row %
Somewhat
important
N Row %
Important
N Row %
Very important
N Row %
Total
46 6% 89 11% 278 33% 274 33% 150 18% 838 100%
72 9% 142 18% 257 32% 218 27% 118 15% 807 100%
56 7% 132 18% 289 39% 195 26% 78 10% 750 100%
49 6% 82 10% 214 26% 309 37% 174 21% 828 100%
46 6% 84 12% 269 37% 247 34% 85 12% 730 100%
61 7% 126 15% 346 41% 207 25% 101 12% 841 100%
18 3% 52 9% 185 30% 230 38% 121 20% 607 100%
63 10% 90 15% 138 23% 200 33% 116 19% 608 100%
Council's conduct as a
professional organisation
Opportun ities to have a
'real say' on issues that
affect your life
Council's decision-making,
e.g. objectivity
Communication with
Council and access to
information
Council's financial
management
Long term planning for The
Hills Shire
Image and presentation
of Council information
Access to your local
Councillor
N Row %
Not at all
satisfied
N Row %
Not very
satisfied
N Row %
Somewhat
satisfied
N Row %
Satisfied
N Row %
Very satisfied
N Row %
Total
The Hills Shire Council
Community Research – draft report
October 2012 79
Overall Satisfaction with Council’s Performance
Q. How do you rate your overall satisfaction with the performance of Council across all areas of responsibility?
18-24 25-34 35-44 45-54 55-64 65-74 75+ Male Female Overall
Mean ratings 3.63 3.74 3.67 3.56 3.58 3.68 3.65 3.63 3.64 3.64
Mean ratings: 1 = not at all satisfied, 5 = very satisfied
9 8% 19 14% 21 10% 12 6% 21 12% 12 12% 6 11%
69 55% 82 58% 116 56% 109 54% 82 48% 54 53% 31 55%
41 33% 30 21% 54 26% 64 32% 46 27% 28 28% 14 25%
3 3% 6 5% 11 5% 10 5% 17 10% 5 5% 4 6%
3 3% 4 3% 4 2% 6 3% 4 2% 2 2% 1 3%
125 100% 143 100% 206 100% 200 100% 170 100% 100 100% 56 100%
Very satisfied
Satisfied
Somewhat satisfied
Not very satisfied
Not at all satisfied
Total
N Col %
18 - 24
N Col %
25 - 34
N Col %
35 - 44
N Col %
45 - 54
N Col %
55 - 64
N Col %
65 - 74
N Col %
75 +
54 11% 47 9% 101 10%
260 53% 282 55% 541 54%
132 27% 145 28% 277 28%
35 7% 22 4% 57 6%
11 2% 14 3% 25 2%
491 100% 509 100% 1000 100%
Very satisfied
Satisfied
Somewhat satisfied
Not very satisfied
Not at all satisfied
Total
N Col %
Male
N Col %
Female
N Col %
Overall
The Hills Shire Council
Community Research – draft report
October 2012 80
Council Contact & Information
Q. How would you prefer to conduct your Council related business?
78 69% 84 64% 122 62% 99 55% 64 44% 31 38% 9 21%
37 33% 52 39% 96 49% 116 64% 86 59% 53 65% 30 66%
16 14% 22 16% 18 9% 20 11% 17 11% 10 12% 7 15%
12 11% 9 7% 18 9% 9 5% 6 4% 6 8% 7 15%
0 0% 0 0% 4 2% 6 3% 5 4% 2 2% 0 0%
112 100% 132 100% 197 100% 180 100% 146 100% 81 100% 45 100%
Online
Telephone
By mail
Library
Other
Total
N Col %
18 - 24
N Col %
25 - 34
N Col %
35 - 44
N Col %
45 - 54
N Col %
55 - 64
N Col %
65 - 74
N Col %
75 +
256 60% 231 50% 487 55%
201 47% 268 58% 470 53%
58 13% 51 11% 109 12%
38 9% 30 6% 67 8%
10 2% 8 2% 17 2%
430 100% 463 100% 893 100%
Online
Telephone
By mail
Library
Other
Total
N Col %
Male
N Col %
Female
N Col %
Overall
The Hills Shire Council
Community Research – draft report
October 2012 81
Council Contact & Information
Q. Where do you look to find out information from Council?
97 78% 121 85% 174 85% 152 76% 113 66% 41 41% 13 23%
53 43% 93 65% 141 69% 129 64% 114 67% 62 62% 28 49%
66 53% 71 50% 117 57% 112 56% 107 63% 71 70% 45 80%
37 30% 76 53% 119 58% 123 61% 107 63% 70 70% 37 66%
62 50% 67 47% 99 48% 106 53% 96 57% 58 58% 37 66%
53 43% 48 33% 54 26% 52 26% 47 28% 27 27% 24 44%
41 33% 39 27% 52 25% 34 17% 20 12% 19 19% 10 18%
25 20% 28 20% 39 19% 21 11% 23 13% 11 11% 10 18%
28 23% 22 15% 28 13% 23 11% 13 8% 17 17% 10 18%
53 43% 26 18% 22 10% 15 7% 12 7% 5 5% 3 5%
16 13% 13 9% 37 18% 22 11% 20 12% 14 14% 4 6%
9 8% 17 12% 21 10% 20 10% 17 10% 11 11% 9 17%
3 3% 6 5% 10 5% 4 2% 5 3% 3 3% 1 3%
3 3% 2 2% 3 1% 6 3% 2 1% 5 5% 3 5%
0 0% 4 3% 0 0% 1 0% 0 0% 0 0% 0 0%
125 100% 143 100% 206 100% 200 100% 170 100% 100 100% 56 100%
Council website
Personal enquiry
Hills News
Sent with rates notice
Hills Shire Times
Word of mouth
Library
Rouse Hill Times
Radio
Social media
E-newsletters
Hills Focus community
magazine
Rouse Hills-Stanhope
Gardens News
Other
None of these
Total
N Col %
18 - 24
N Col %
25 - 34
N Col %
35 - 44
N Col %
45 - 54
N Col %
55 - 64
N Col %
65 - 74
N Col %
75 +
358 73% 352 69% 710 71%
290 59% 330 65% 620 62%
276 56% 313 61% 589 59%
289 59% 279 55% 568 57%
244 50% 282 55% 526 53%
136 28% 169 33% 306 31%
103 21% 111 22% 214 21%
88 18% 68 13% 157 16%
71 14% 69 14% 140 14%
65 13% 70 14% 135 14%
80 16% 45 9% 125 12%
45 9% 59 12% 104 10%
14 3% 19 4% 33 3%
15 3% 10 2% 25 2%
2 0% 3 1% 5 1%
491 100% 509 100% 1000 100%
Council website
Personal enquiry
Hills News
Sent with rates notice
Hills Shire Times
Word of mouth
Library
Rouse Hill Times
Radio
Social media
E-newsletters
Hills Focus community magazine
Rouse Hills-Stanhope Gardens News
Other
None of these
Total
N Col %
Male
N Col %
Female
N Col %
Overall
The Hills Shire Council
Community Research – draft report
October 2012 82
Council Contact & Information
Q. Do you receive Council’s ‘Hills Focus’ community magazine in your letterbox?
Q. Do you read the ‘Hills Focus’?
12 10% 43 30% 55 27% 57 28% 47 28% 34 34% 14 25%
112 90% 99 70% 151 73% 144 72% 122 72% 66 66% 42 75%
125 100% 143 100% 206 100% 200 100% 170 100% 100 100% 56 100%
Yes
No
Total
N Col %
18 - 24
N Col %
25 - 34
N Col %
35 - 44
N Col %
45 - 54
N Col %
55 - 64
N Col %
65 - 74
N Col %
75 +
126 26% 137 27% 263 26%
365 74% 371 73% 737 74%
491 100% 509 100% 1000 100%
Yes
No
Total
N Col %
Male
N Col %
Female
N Col %
Overall
9 75% 24 55% 33 59% 40 70% 37 78% 30 86% 13 95%
3 25% 19 45% 23 41% 17 30% 11 22% 5 14% 1 5%
12 100% 43 100% 55 100% 57 100% 47 100% 34 100% 14 100%
Yes
No
Total
N Col %
18 - 24
N Col %
25 - 34
N Col %
35 - 44
N Col %
45 - 54
N Col %
55 - 64
N Col %
65 - 74
N Col %
75 +
85 68% 100 73% 185 70%
41 32% 37 27% 78 30%
126 100% 137 100% 263 100%
Yes
No
Total
N Col %
Male
N Col %
Female
N Col %
Overall
The Hills Shire Council
Community Research – draft report
October 2012 83
Quality of Life
Q. How would you rate your overall quality of life?
18-24 25-34 35-44 45-54 55-64 65-74 75+ Male Female Overall
Mean ratings 4.60 4.56 4.40 4.46 4.39 4.48 4.34 4.46 4.47 4.46
Mean ratings: 1 = very poor, 5 = excellent
81 65% 89 62% 104 50% 102 51% 80 47% 57 57% 29 51%
37 30% 45 32% 82 40% 89 44% 76 45% 35 35% 19 34%
6 5% 9 6% 19 9% 10 5% 14 8% 8 8% 8 14%
0 0% 0 0% 1 0% 0 0% 0 0% 1 1% 1 1%
0 0% 0 0% 0 0% 0 0% 0 0% 0 0% 0 0%
125 100% 143 100% 206 100% 200 100% 170 100% 100 100% 56 100%
Excellent
Good
Average
Poor
Very poor
Total
N Col %
18 - 24
N Col %
25 - 34
N Col %
35 - 44
N Col %
45 - 54
N Col %
55 - 64
N Col %
65 - 74
N Col %
75 +
262 53% 278 55% 541 54%
192 39% 192 38% 384 38%
37 7% 36 7% 73 7%
0 0% 2 0% 2 0%
0 0% 0 0% 0 0%
491 100% 509 100% 1000 100%
Excellent
Good
Average
Poor
Very poor
Total
N Col %
Male
N Col %
Female
N Col %
Overall
The Hills Shire Council
Community Research – draft report
October 2012 84
Agreement with Specific Statements
Q. How strongly do you agree or disagree with the following statements:
Agreement 18-24 25-34 35-44 45-54 55-64 65-74 75+
The Hills Shire is a good place to live 4.75 4.71 4.50 4.57 4.60 4.77 4.76
I feel part of my local community 3.75 3.95 3.98 4.00 3.88 4.20 4.27
My neighbourhood has a friendly atmosphere 4.28 4.32 4.25 4.13 4.00 4.32 4.29
I prefer to shop in my local community 4.40 4.53 4.53 4.41 4.56 4.63 4.72
I feel safe moving about in public spaces in
The Hills during the day 4.80 4.76 4.67 4.61 4.58 4.63 4.65
I feel safe moving about in public spaces in
The Hills at night 3.93 3.92 3.74 3.61 3.56 3.43 3.18
In an emergency a family member or friend is
available to assist me 4.65 4.39 4.34 4.26 4.35 4.59 4.40
Agreement Male Female Overall
The Hills Shire is a good place to live 4.63 4.63 4.63
I feel part of my local community 3.87 4.06 3.97
My neighbourhood has a friendly atmosphere 4.24 4.18 4.21
I prefer to shop in my local community 4.41 4.62 4.52
I feel safe moving about in public spaces in The Hills during the day 4.65 4.69 4.67
I feel safe moving about in public spaces in The Hills at night 3.87 3.48 3.67
In an emergency a family member or friend is available to assist me 4.36 4.44 4.40
Mean ratings: 1 = not at all satisfied, 5 = very satisfied
= A significantly higher level of agreement (by group)
= A significantly lower level of agreement (by group)
3 0% 6 1% 38 4% 261 26% 692 69% 1000 100%
16 2% 45 4% 246 25% 340 34% 353 35% 1000 100%
18 2% 31 3% 135 13% 357 36% 459 46% 1000 100%
9 1% 18 2% 67 7% 259 26% 647 65% 1000 100%
3 0% 2 0% 25 3% 262 26% 707 71% 1000 100%
42 4% 80 8% 283 28% 355 36% 239 24% 1000 100%
28 3% 25 3% 85 8% 243 24% 619 62% 1000 100%
The Hills Shire is a good
place to live
I feel part of my local
community
My neighbourhood has
a friendly atmosphere
I prefer to shop in my
local community
I feel safe moving about
in public spaces in The
Hills during the day
I feel safe moving about
in public spaces in The
Hills at night
In an emergency a
family member or friend
is available to assist me
N Row %
Strongly
disagree
N Row %
Disagree
N Row %
Neither
N Row %
Agree
N Row %
Strongly agree
N Row %
Total
The Hills Shire Council
Community Research – draft report
October 2012 85
Sustainability in the Home
Q. Which of the following, if any, do you have, or do, at home in relation to being more sustainable?
50 40% 78 55% 128 62% 114 57% 63 37% 29 29% 12 22%
53 43% 52 36% 81 39% 74 37% 72 42% 44 44% 20 35%
47 38% 56 39% 82 40% 64 32% 61 36% 23 23% 14 24%
28 23% 37 26% 41 20% 49 25% 43 25% 23 23% 17 30%
25 20% 30 21% 50 24% 47 23% 35 21% 22 22% 15 27%
37 30% 28 20% 30 14% 36 18% 37 22% 29 28% 15 27%
125 100% 143 100% 206 100% 200 100% 170 100% 100 100% 56 100%
Bulk buying to reduce
package waste
Compost or worm farm
Recycle water
Water tank
Solar power
None of the above
Total
N Col %
18 - 24
N Col %
25 - 34
N Col %
35 - 44
N Col %
45 - 54
N Col %
55 - 64
N Col %
65 - 74
N Col %
75 +
220 45% 254 50% 474 47%
203 41% 194 38% 396 40%
177 36% 170 33% 347 35%
131 27% 107 21% 238 24%
123 25% 102 20% 225 22%
101 21% 111 22% 212 21%
491 100% 509 100% 1000 100%
Bulk buying to reduce package waste
Compost or worm farm
Recycle water
Water tank
Solar power
None of the above
Total
N Col %
Male
N Col %
Female
N Col %
Overall
The Hills Shire Council
Community Research – draft report
October 2012 86
Access to Services
Q. In The Hills Shire I find it easy to access:
Agreement 18-24 25-34 35-44 45-54 55-64 65-74 75+
My place of work 3.51 3.68 3.72 3.67 3.64 3.52 3.75
Local shops 4.53 4.59 4.47 4.38 4.40 4.54 4.57
Major shopping centres 4.50 4.42 4.38 4.22 4.37 4.53 4.37
Health and medical services 4.28 4.22 4.23 4.15 4.34 4.54 4.59
Childcare 3.90 4.14 4.10 3.69 3.75 3.96 3.86
Schools 4.60 4.48 4.39 4.23 4.31 4.48 4.38
Tertiary institutions (TAFE or university) 3.03 3.40 3.31 3.02 3.38 3.53 3.71
Public transport 3.00 2.91 2.99 2.70 2.95 3.58 3.57
Sporting facilities 3.98 4.06 3.91 3.75 3.81 4.04 3.81
Entertainment or cultural facilities 3.25 3.53 3.37 3.21 3.42 3.70 3.66
Parks, open spaces and bushland 4.33 4.20 4.22 4.11 4.16 4.26 4.21
Community facilities 3.62 3.82 3.72 3.69 3.80 4.01 4.03
Agreement Male Female Overall
My place of work 3.48 3.82 3.65
Local shops 4.42 4.53 4.48
Major shopping centres 4.34 4.42 4.38
Health and medical services 4.25 4.32 4.29
Childcare 3.84 4.03 3.94
Schools 4.35 4.43 4.39
Tertiary institutions (TAFE or university) 3.24 3.27 3.25
Public transport 3.09 2.91 3.00
Sporting facilities 3.88 3.93 3.90
Entertainment or cultural facilities 3.42 3.38 3.40
Parks, open spaces and bushland 4.20 4.20 4.20
Community facilities 3.74 3.80 3.77
Mean ratings: 1 = not at all satisfied, 5 = very satisfied
= A significantly higher level of agreement (by group)
= A significantly lower level of agreement (by group)
The Hills Shire Council
Community Research – draft report
October 2012 87
Access to Services
Q. In The Hills Shire I find it easy to access:
99 13% 73 9% 142 18% 160 20% 311 40% 786 100%
9 1% 22 2% 82 8% 257 26% 630 63% 1000 100%
8 1% 22 2% 121 12% 274 27% 573 57% 999 100%
9 1% 36 4% 133 13% 302 30% 515 52% 995 100%
31 5% 41 6% 143 22% 176 26% 275 41% 666 100%
14 2% 12 1% 87 11% 226 28% 470 58% 810 100%
91 11% 109 14% 263 33% 174 22% 160 20% 797 100%
181 19% 181 19% 242 25% 192 20% 175 18% 970 100%
20 2% 42 5% 216 23% 379 41% 271 29% 929 100%
46 5% 104 11% 387 40% 294 30% 147 15% 977 100%
11 1% 36 4% 121 12% 399 40% 427 43% 994 100%
19 2% 59 6% 279 29% 386 40% 232 24% 975 100%
My place of work
Local shops
Major shopping centres
Health and medical
services
Childcare
Schools
Tertiary institutions (TAFE
or un iversity)
Public transport
Sporting facilities
Entertainment or
cultu ral facilities
Parks, open spaces
and bushland
Community facilities
N Row %
Strongly
disagree
N Row %
Disagree
N Row %
Neither
N Row %
Agree
N Row %
Strongly agree
N Row %
Total
The Hills Shire Council
Community Research – draft report
October 2012 88
Community Involvement
Q. In the last 12 months, have you done any of the following:
56 45% 86 61% 147 71% 140 70% 92 54% 51 51% 17 31%
72 58% 60 42% 115 56% 116 58% 93 55% 54 53% 26 46%
50 40% 45 32% 104 50% 95 48% 56 33% 39 39% 19 33%
9 8% 39 27% 45 22% 61 30% 32 19% 25 25% 18 33%
16 13% 28 20% 38 18% 22 11% 40 23% 26 26% 17 29%
22 18% 32 23% 23 11% 26 13% 26 15% 20 20% 16 28%
6 5% 11 8% 15 7% 15 7% 14 8% 12 12% 5 9%
125 100% 143 100% 206 100% 200 100% 170 100% 100 100% 56 100%
Attended a community
festival or event
Visited an art gallery,
attended a play, concert
or other cultural event
Volunteered
Been involved in a local
committee or local
community group, such as
355 committees
Been involved in crafts or
hobby groups
None of these
Attended a Council focus
group, workshop or
Council Meeting
Total
N Col %
18 - 24
N Col %
25 - 34
N Col %
35 - 44
N Col %
45 - 54
N Col %
55 - 64
N Col %
65 - 74
N Col %
75 +
274 56% 316 62% 589 59%
239 49% 296 58% 535 54%
167 34% 242 47% 408 41%
107 22% 123 24% 229 23%
66 13% 120 23% 186 19%
96 20% 68 13% 165 16%
47 10% 31 6% 78 8%
491 100% 509 100% 1000 100%
Attended a community festival or event
Visited an art gallery, attended a play, concert or other cultural event
Volunteered
Been involved in a local committee or local community group, such as 355 committees
Been involved in crafts or hobby groups
None of these
Attended a Council focus group, workshop or Council Meeting
Total
N Col %
Male
N Col %
Female
N Col %
Overall
The Hills Shire Council
Community Research – draft report
October 2012 89
Working Inside/Outside The Hills Shire
Q. Do you work in The Hills Shire?
Q. As you may be aware, the NSW State Government is planning to construct an underground metro rail system
that will link Rouse Hill to the Sydney CBD. Do you think that you will utilise this metro train to travel to work?
= A significantly higher level of agreement (by group)
= A significantly lower level of agreement (by group)
41 33% 48 33% 70 34% 84 42% 45 27% 9 9% 1 1%
62 50% 78 55% 107 52% 99 49% 74 44% 8 8% 1 1%
22 18% 17 12% 30 14% 18 9% 50 30% 84 83% 55 97%
125 100% 143 100% 206 100% 200 100% 170 100% 100 100% 56 100%
Yes
No
I don't work
Total
N Col %
18 - 24
N Col %
25 - 34
N Col %
35 - 44
N Col %
45 - 54
N Col %
55 - 64
N Col %
65 - 74
N Col %
75 +
115 23% 182 36% 297 30%
245 50% 183 36% 428 43%
131 27% 144 28% 275 27%
491 100% 509 100% 1000 100%
Yes
No
I don't work
Total
N Col %
Male
N Col %
Female
N Col %
Overall
37 60% 35 44% 42 39% 43 44% 17 23% 2 23% 0 0%
12 20% 37 47% 55 52% 45 46% 49 66% 5 62% 1 100%
12 20% 6 8% 8 8% 9 9% 8 10% 1 15% 0 0%
0 0% 0 0% 1 1% 2 2% 1 1% 0 0% 0 0%
62 100% 78 100% 107 100% 99 100% 74 100% 8 100% 1 100%
Yes
No
Maybe
Can't say
Total
N Col %
18 - 24
N Col %
25 - 34
N Col %
35 - 44
N Col %
45 - 54
N Col %
55 - 64
N Col %
65 - 74
N Col %
75 +
104 42% 72 40% 176 41%
107 44% 97 53% 204 48%
31 13% 13 7% 45 10%
3 1% 1 0% 4 1%
245 100% 183 100% 428 100%
Yes
No
Maybe
Can't say
Total
N Col %
Male
N Col %
Female
N Col %
Overall
Appendix B
Questionnaire
The Hills Shire Council
Community Survey
August 2012 1
The Hills Shire Council – Community Satisfaction
Good Morning/Afternoon/Evening
My name is __________ and I am calling on behalf of The Hills Shire Council from a research company called
Micromex. We are conducting a survey about the services provided by Council and what 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. Would you please be able to assist?
Before we start, I just have to make sure you qualify for an interview. Firstly, is this household in The Hills Shire
Council area? [IF NOT TERMINATE] And have you lived in this Council area for more than 6 months? [IF NOT
TERMINATE] Are you or anyone in your household a Councillor of employed by any local Council? (IF YES,
TERMINATE INTERVIEW)
Great, you qualify. The information you provide will only be used for research purposes and is completely
confidential. I also have to inform you that my supervisor may monitor this call for quality control purposes.
Firstly thinking the ways you can make contact with Council
Q1. How would you prefer to conduct your Council related business? Prompt
O In person at the Administration Centre (Showground Rd Castle Hill)
O Library (Castle Hill, Rouse Hill, Dural, Baulkham Hills, Carlingford)
O Online
O Telephone
O By mail
O Other (please specify)...............................
Q2a. Where do you look to find out information from Council? Prompt
O Word of mouth
O Sent with rates notice
O Hills News
O Rouse Hill Times
O Hills Shire Times
O Rouse Hills-Stanhope Gardens News
O Radio
O Hills Focus community magazine
O Library
O Council website
O Personal enquiry
O E-newsletters
O Social media
O Other (please specify)...............................
Q2b. Do you receive Council’s ‘Hills Focus’ community magazine in your letterbox?
O Yes O No (Go to Q3)
Q2c. Do you read the ‘Hills Focus’?
O Yes O No
The Hills Shire Council
Community Survey
August 2012 2
Q2d. Why not?
...........................................................................................................................................................
Q3. SPECIFIC SERVICES
I would like to ask you some questions about Council provided services. In this first part could you please
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.
The scale is from 1 to 5 where 1 = low importance and low satisfaction and 5 = high importance and high
satisfaction.
Creating Vibrant Communities
Importance Satisfaction
Low High Low High
1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5
Library services O O O O O O O O O O
Community centres and community halls O O O O O O O O O O
Youth facilities, e.g. skate parks O O O O O O O O O O
Services and facilities for older people O O O O O O O O O O
Emergency services, e.g. SES and Rural Fire ServiceO O O O O O O O O O
Support for volunteer organisations O O O O O O O O O O
Council provision of local community events O O O O O O O O O O
Playgrounds/play equipment O O O O O O O O O O
Ovals and sporting facilities O O O O O O O O O O
Lighting of public areas O O O O O O O O O O
Provision of public toilets O O O O O O O O O O
Parks and gardens O O O O O O O O O O
Aquatic centre O O O O O O O O O O
Recreation/Performing Arts Centre O O O O O O O O O O
Valuing Our Environment
Importance Satisfaction
Low High Low High
1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5
Preservation of sensitive environmental areas
(i.e Broadwater wetlands and bushland reserves) O O O O O O O O O O
Preservation of permanent open space O O O O O O O O O O
Water quality O O O O O O O O O O
Air quality O O O O O O O O O O
Management of noise pollution O O O O O O O O O O
Preservation of plants and animals in their
natural habitat O O O O O O O O O O
Bushland regeneration and weed control O O O O O O O O O O
Domestic garbage collection (red bin) O O O O O O O O O O
Recycling collection (yellow bin) O O O O O O O O O O
Garden organic collection (green bin) O O O O O O O O O O
On call kerbside service O O O O O O O O O O
The Hills Shire Council
Community Survey
August 2012 3
Balanced Urban Growth
Importance Satisfaction
Low High Low High
1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5
Maintaining condition of residential (local) roads O O O O O O O O O O
Maintaining condition of footpaths and
cycleways O O O O O O O O O O
Traffic parking enforcement O O O O O O O O O O
Overall zoning of the Shire O O O O O O O O O O
Range of shopping facilities O O O O O O O O O O
Protection of heritage values and buildings O O O O O O O O O O
Low density housing developments, e.g. single
houses, villas O O O O O O O O O O
Medium density housing developments,
e.g. apartments O O O O O O O O O O
Streetscape appearance O O O O O O O O O O
Health inspections of food premises, hairdressers, etc. O O O O O O O O O O
Pet and animal management/control O O O O O O O O O O
Building A Modern Local Economy
Importance Satisfaction
Low High Low High
1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5
Town centre and village atmosphere O O O O O O O O O O
Commercial building developments,
e.g. industry, shopping centres, offices O O O O O O O O O O
Generating local employment opportunities O O O O O O O O O O
Proactive Leadership
Importance Satisfaction
Low High Low High
1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5
Council’s conduct as a professional organisation O O O O O O O O O O
Opportunities to have a ‘real say’ on issues that
affect your life O O O O O O O O O O
Council’s decision-making e.g. objectivity O O O O O O O O O O
Communication with Council and access to
information O O O O O O O O O O
Council’s financial management O O O O O O O O O O
Long term planning for The Hills Shire O O O O O O O O O O
Image and presentation of Council information O O O O O O O O O O
Access to your local Councillor O O O O O O O O O O
The Hills Shire Council
Community Survey
August 2012 4
Q4. How do you rate your overall satisfaction with the performance of Council across all areas of
responsibility. Prompt
O Very satisfied
O Satisfied
O Somewhat satisfied
O Not very satisfied
O Not at all satisfied
Q5. How strongly do you agree or disagree with the following statements: Prompt
Strongly Disagree Neither Agree Strongly
Disagree Agree
The Hills Shire is a good place to live O O O O O
I feel part of my local community O O O O O
My neighbourhood has a friendly atmosphere O O O O O
I prefer to shop in my local community O O O O O
I feel safe moving about in public spaces in The Hills
during the day O O O O O
I feel safe moving about in public spaces in The Hills
at night O O O O O
In an emergency a family member or friend is
available to assist me O O O O O
Q6. How would you rate your overall quality of life? Prompt
O Excellent
O Good
O Neither
O Poor
O Very poor
The Hills Shire Council
Community Survey
August 2012 5
Access to services
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?
Q7. In The Hills Shire I find it easy to access:
Strongly Disagree Neither Agree Strongly
Disagree Agree
Place of work O O O O O
Local shops O O O O O
Major shopping centres O O O O O
Health and medical services O O O O O
Child care O O O O O
Schools O O O O O
Tertiary institutions (TAFE or university) O O O O O
Public transport O O O O O
Sporting facilities O O O O O
Entertainment or cultural facilities O O O O O
Parks, open spaces and bushland O O O O O
Community facilities O O O O O
Q8. In the last 12 months have you done any of the following: Prompt
O Attended a community festival or event
O Visited an art gallery, attended a play, concert of other cultural event
O Been involved in crafts or hobby groups
O Volunteered
O Been involved in a local committee or local community group, such as 355 committees
O Attended a Council focus group, workshop or Council Meeting
Q9. Which of the following, if any, do you have, or do at home in relation to being more sustainable?
Prompt
O Compost or worm farm.
O Water tank
O Recycle water
O Solar power
O Bulk buying to reduce package waste
O None of the above
Q10a. Do you work in The Hills Shire?
O Yes (Go to Q10d) O No O Not working (Go to Q11)
Q10b. What is the main reason why you do not work locally? Do not prompt
O Company based outside of local area.
O No jobs available locally.
O Job in my industry/specialisation not available locally
O Retained old job when moved into The Hills Shire.
O Prefer to work outside of The Hills Shire.
O Other (please specify).........................................................
The Hills Shire Council
Community Survey
August 2012 6
Q10c. As you may be aware, the NSW State Government is planning to construct an underground metro
rail system that will link Rouse Hill to the Sydney CBD. Do you think that you will utilise this metro train
to travel to work?
O Yes O No O Maybe O Can’t Say
Q10d. On average, how many minutes does it take you in total, to travel to and from your usual work
place?
...........................................................................................................................................................
Q10e. How do you think Public Transport can be improved and in what time frame?
...........................................................................................................................................................
Priority Issues
Q11. What are the things that you value most about living in The Hills Shire? (PROBE FULLY)
...........................................................................................................................................................
Q12. Thinking about the next 4 years, what do you think are the highest priority issues facing The Hills Shire
and its residents? (PROBE FULLY)
...........................................................................................................................................................
Demographics
Could you please now just assist with the following demographic information?
Q13. Age Group:
O 18 – 24 O 55 - 64
O 25 - 34 O 65 - 74
O 35 - 44 O 75 - 84
O 45 – 54 O 85 and over
Q14. Which of the following best describes your home?
O Free standing house
O Villa
O Townhouse
O Flat/unit
O Self care retirement complex
O Rural dwelling
O Other
Q15. Do you own or rent your home?
O Own/buying
O Rent
The Hills Shire Council
Community Survey
August 2012 7
Q16. In which suburb do you live?
O Annangrove O Leets Vale
O Baulkham Hill O Lower Portland
O Beaumont Hills O Maraylya
O Bella Vista O Maroota
O Box Hill O Middle Dural
O Carlingford O North Rocks
O Castle Hill O Northmead
O Cattai O Oatlands
O Dural O Rouse Hill
O Glenhaven O Sackville North
O Glenmore O South Maroota
O Kellyville O West Pennant Hills
O Kenthurst O Wisemans Ferry
Q17. How long have you been a resident of The Hills Shire?
O Less than 1 year
O 1 – 5 years
O 6 – 10 years
O 11 – 20 years
O Over 20 years
Q18. Gender (determine by voice):
O Male O Female
That completes the survey and I thank you for your assistance. This information will assist Council in
providing better services for residents.
I confirm again that my name is …………….. from Micromex Research. If you have any questions with
regards to this survey you may contact Council or discuss this survey with my supervisor on 02 43522388.
Contact Kerrie Walshaw – 0421 348 864
THANK YOU FOR YOUR ASSISTANCE