Straight from city council A personal view, by Councillor Steve Morris

Over the last fortnight, nearly 300 members of the public have spoken to us in the council chamber on our draft 10-year budget. We've received more than 3200 submissions - four times more than usual.

It's heartening to see this level of engagement; usually, we're lucky to have one member of the public and the media in the chamber while we make decisions on your behalf.

The hottest topic in oral submissions has been a move of some of the rates burden from residential properties to commercial ones (Tauranga homeowners pay a higher proportion of rates verses commercial than other cities).

As you would expect, there has been strong push back from commercial property owners, but they raise valid points about the level of consultation we had with them before proposing the change.

The overall size of the rating pie, not just how it's cut up, has also been a common theme from submitters. An early analysis of the first 1000 submissions shows a majority reject the $55m museum proposal, echoing the referendum.

Nearly three-quarters support a council glass collection starting in October, and a similar proportion support a rates-funded council rubbish and recycling collection starting in 2021. Once we've been through all submissions, we'll get a clearer picture and then it's decision time.

A very well-presented submission from Otumoetai Primary School students was a highlight. They surveyed 162 of their fellow Year 5 and 6 students and told us what they, as future ratepayers, want for their city.