COMMUNITY confidence in Brimbank Council has declined significantly over the past year, according to a survey.

The council’s annual community survey has revealed residents were decidedly less impressed with the council in 2009 than they were in 2008.

As part of the annual survey, 1200 residents were randomly asked to give their opinions on the council’s governance and services, along with a range of topical issues including safety, gambling and domestic violence.

Satisfaction with the council’s overall performance dropped considerably from a score of 6.46 out of 10 in 2008 to 5.71 last year.

The council has blamed the poor result on the highly publicised sacking of its councillors last year and say it is no wonder residents were unhappy.

But despite the dissatisfaction with governance, residents were more content with council services, with satisfaction up four per cent from the previous year.

The weekly garbage collection and green waste services were applauded, while the maintenance of public toilets, footpaths and parks were criticised.

Safety, policing and crime were among the top concerns for residents, with one in four surveyed considering them as a priority.

Traffic management and public transport were also rated highly.

Alarmingly, when questioned about family violence, a large percentage of people surveyed refused to recognise examples provided as incidents of violence.

More than 40 per cent of respondents did not believe family violence was common, while 29 per cent were unable or unwilling to comment on the issue.

Brimbank administrator Meredith Sussex welcomed the survey’s findings on council services and facilities.

“Fundamentally, the survey results show council services are improving, we have a strong sense of community and our residents are generally satisfied with their standard of living and health,” Ms Sussex said.

“It is great to know our community feels that despite the significant governance issues last year which led to the removal of councillors, the staff of Brimbank City Council were still able to maintain and importantly, to improve, the level of service delivery to the community.”