This week I spent an hour in the call centre at Tauranga City Council to get a better understanding of the type of queries staff deal with.

Queries ranged from building consent matters to people wanting to set up direct debits to pay their rates to reporting a wandering, stray dog.

The call centre is a shining example of how it is possible for a large organisation to provide personal, prompt attention. The team were answering calls non-stop.

Thank you to Sharon for giving me the opportunity to help me understand what goes on in the call centre.

The call centre and customer service teams on the ground floor do a superb job and are really customer focused – well done.

Living with risk

I attended an informal workshop facilitated by the Bay of Plenty Regional Council on Monday afternoon. Attendees were asked to indicate their level of acceptance (or not) when dealing with a range of natural disasters and varying levels of damage that involved tsunamis, floods and earthquakes.

Unfortunately there were only about 30 people, with about half that number being staff from various local councils and authorities.

An evening workshop may have been a better opportunity to engage with people who work during the day.

The Bay of Plenty Regional Council will be seeking submissions on the matter. If you want to make a submission or be kept up to date with developments, get in touch with the Bay of Plenty Regional Council.

Community engagement

During our Community Development Committee on Monday, elected members discussed evening meetings as a way to better engage with the community.

The committee confirmed we will trial some meetings out in the community during this year, to give residents the opportunity to voice their ideas and opinions to elected members.

For residents living in the Otumoetai/Pyes Pa Ward, a meeting has been scheduled for Monday, July 14 from 7pm-9pm at the Matua Hall, Levers Road, Tauranga.

The dates, times and venues for the whole city will be published in due course.

In the meantime, if you wish to speak to all elected members by leaving one telephone message, phone 985 6171.