Matt Cowley Tauranga City Councillor

I love the quote which popped out in the council chambers this week: 'Planning in a vacuum”. It refers to communities developing a strategy to address an issue it's concerned about, but it fails to get actioned because it's unfair to other communities or it's at odds with council's financial strategy.

The worst situation is when the community has developed a bunch of strategies, but then the strategies' visions, direction, funding and timeframes all compete with each other. The whole point of having a city vision is we're all working towards the same direction.

A strategy is a short way of saying how we get from point A to point B. I believe the strength of a strategy is determined by the significance of the trade-offs it makes. I'm excited with this council being prepared to have honest conversations with communities on what's achievable, so we avoid future Greerton Library situations where planning has been stretched out for more than 15 years.

The planning quote came from Jim Diers, who is a self-proclaimed neighbourhood activist from Settle currently touring NZ to empower citizens. His key message to SmartGrowth is don't lose sight of developing neighbourhoods as the city continues to grow. In other words, let's empower citizens to build neighbourhoods while council focuses on the big, boring matters like water, waste and transport.

Changing the direction of councils is like attempting a u-turn on the Titanic; it takes many cogs to be turned over time. I believe this new council is heading in the right direction only 6 months into the role, although we can always do better.

Our six-month performance review

It's been six months since the new council has been in office, effectively ending our honey-moon period. We've delivered a draft budget that responds to what we heard during the election. We've found affordable ways to deliver the new Greerton Library, tsunami evacuation routes, the marine precinct, the CBD university campus, major events funding, community matching funding, and to put aside funding for future stormwater investment.

To achieve all this within a two per cent general rate increase, plus 4.7 per cent stormwater levy, and stopping the increase in debt; there are going to be some winners and losers. I don't think any councillor is completely satisfied with the draft budget, and changes are likely following public submissions.

The councillors are eager to hear your feedback by Tuesday, April 22, 2014, as nothing is set in stone. Please visit our website www.tauranga.govt.nz for more information.

Feel free to email me your thoughts (matt.cowley@tauranga.govt.nz), call/text me on 027 6989 548, and follow me at www.facebook.com/a.younger.voice.