Cows, birds spark complaints

WHANGAREI residents have been letting off steam over birds singing, cows mooing and stars disappearing during the day.

For the year to February 28, Whangarei District Council received 26,484 service requests and 172 complaints from people in the district.

Council media relations adviser Ann Midson says some of the service requests can also be complaints.

For example a person who phones the council to complain about a wondering dog is requesting the council deal with the matter.

If the person phones again complaining about how the council dealt with the matter it is a complaint.

But not all service requests and complaints are straightforward.

Ms Midson says one person phoned to complain about a plastic bag blowing up and down Norfolk St, wanting council staff to pick it up.

Another inquired about where the stars go during the day and why the stars seem brighter on the weekend.

Ms Midson says when council staff said they could not help, the person said they pay rates so the council should know.

A new resident to a Whangarei rural community complained about cows mooing and others have complained that birds are too noisy.

But the most service requests received were about waste, from requests for information about rubbish collection to problems relating to sewage.

A total of 5496 service requests about waste were received during the past 12 months.

Roading was also a popular topic with 4889 service requests.

Noise led to 3390 service requests.

Out of the 172 complaints received during the year, 64 were about the district plan.

The council is unable to compare the past year's service requests and complaints with previous years because a new system was adopted recently to record the information.

Ms Midson says council staff encourage residents to call about council-related matters, and can also direct callers to other agencies.

- © Fairfax NZ News