The results of the annual Local Government Community Satisfaction Survey have again placed Hepburn among the lowest-ranked small rural councils in the state, with an overall satisfaction rating of 56 per cent, compared to the 79 per cent average.

The council contributed $6500 towards the cost of the survey, which involved telephone interviews with 350 people living locally.

In particular, local roads and footpaths, community engagement and economic development were identified as key areas for improvement.

When asked to rate the council's performance since 2009, 19 per cent of residents said it had improved, 61 per cent said it had stayed the same, 13 per cent said it had deteriorated and 7 per cent said they did not know.

The overall satisfaction rating dropped slightly from 58 per cent to 56 per cent.

The council received a lower rating in comparison to similar councils in eight of the nine specific performance areas.

Hepburn Shire chief executive officer Kaylene Conrick said that following a slight rise in satisfaction recorded in the previous (2009) survey, the council recorded a largely unchanged result for the three key areas of overall performance, community engagement and customer contact.

There was a slight decline in results recorded for advocacy.

"The survey showed that residents continued to express high levels of satisfaction with the appearance of our public areas and our health and human services," Ms Conrick said.

"When looking at our overall result our scores do remain at the lower end in comparison to similar small rural shires and I want to assure residents that we are working hard to introduce better ways of listening to and responding to community concerns."

The annual survey, organised by the state sovernment, includes all local government areas across the State.

It was conducted throughout the Hepburn Shire in February and March of this year.

Hepburn Shire Council is grouped for comparison purposes with 21 other small rural shires.