A media release from the council says it has been "beleagued (sic) with governance issues, relationship problems and in-fighting causing poor results in the 2008 Local Government Community Satisfaction Survey".

Acting chief executive officer Philip Shanahan said the results were not a surprise.

"If there is one thing we know about community satisfaction ratings, it's that our citizens will not accept disharmony and turmoil within the council," he said.

"Not only do citizens register lower ratings for things like overall performance or community engagement, but they will also score lower on services, like recreation or community services.

"These are services where, in fact, we can be reasonably assured that our level or quality of service has probably improved.

"Our citizens have clearly voiced their general dissatisfaction with the way council has governed and this has filtered through all categories."

Mr Shanahan said the council needed to rebuild trust and win back the community's confidence.

The council recorded lower results than last year in overall performance, advocacy and community engagement.

Of the 21 councils listed as small rural shires, including Ararat, Central Goldfields, Golden Plains, Strathbogie and West Wimmera, Hepburn Shire had the lowest levels of satisfaction for the above three categories and customer

contact.

It also was at the bottom of the ladder for town planning policy and approvals, local roads and footpaths, health and human services, recreational facilities, appearance of public areas, waste management and traffic management

and parking.

Of residents interviewed, 34 per cent believed the council's overall performance had deteriorated, 45 per cent felt it had stayed the same and 15 per cent thought it had improved.

Some of the comments were that the council was: too focused on internal politics and didn't achieve outcomes (46 per cent); didn't listen to the community (29 per cent); and was more interested in politics and/or themselves than

the community (12 per cent).