John MacDonald: The Christchurch City Council is a shambles

Because it’s Friday - I’m going to be kind.

I was going to say that the Christchurch City Council is a disaster. But, just because it’s Friday, I’m not going to say that.

But I am going to say that it’s a shambles.

And I’m not just plucking words out of nowhere or saying it for the sake of saying it. I’m saying it because of what’s come through in the council’s latest residents satisfaction survey.

Let’s start with the good news. 99 percent of people are happy with the Botanic Gardens. 97 percent of people think the council does a good job running the cemeteries around the place.

97 percent of people are happy with Hagley Park. The libraries get a 96 percent approval rating and, as for customer service, people are pretty happy with that too. Face-to-face service gets 98 percent approval; service on the phone has 90 percent of people satisfied. Email service not so great, but it’s still pretty good.

And I’ll agree with all of those. When I’ve had to call up the council about something, the people on the end of the line have always been great. Sometimes the follow-up has been a bit slow - like that time we had a leak just after there’d been some pretty major roadworks outside.

But then, another time, the water toby at the end of the driveway packed a sad on a Saturday and they had someone out to replace within just a few hours.

So yeah, the parks, the libraries, the people on the phone - I agree that they should be rated pretty highly. And that’s because, generally, places like the Christchurch City Council are full of people like you and me who don’t go out of their way to be difficult and who go to work everyday to do the best they can.

Even those transport people who installed that ridiculous cycleway set-up near the Museum and the Arts Centre the other week. Yes, it’s daft - but I’m sure, in their hearts, they had the best intentions.

But where things really go pear-shaped in the survey results - is when we get to the sort of stuff the politicians - the elected members - told us they were going into council to fix.

And these are the numbers that show they are failing big time.

15 percent - that’s how many of the people who took part in the survey think the council makes good financial decisions. Which means 85 percent of people think they make hopeless financial decisions.

It goes on. Only 28 percent of people in Christchurch are happy with the state of the roads. Which actually surprises me - because I’d like to meet these people who are happy with the roads. They obviously don’t get out much.

But again, that result says 72 percent of us aren’t happy with the roads in Christchurch. Is the Council really going to be satisfied with that? I hope not.

And then we get to the trust issue. And who was the guy who was going to get in there and turn the place upside down and get more people trusting the council?

Well, the results out today tell us that only 29 percent of people actually trust it. Which means more than two-thirds of people don’t trust the Christchurch City Council.

Last year, 31 percent said they trusted it. This year 29 percent, so they’re going backwards on that front.

And I think we can safely say that - on the basis of these survey results - the Council is going backwards full stop.

Yes, the botanic gardens and the libraries are great. Yes, the council staff that we deal with on a daily basis are great. And yes, even people like the transport staff who do some weird things - I’m confident that they’re good people too.

But as an organisation - or, more specifically, as an elected council, it’s a shambles.

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