Matt Cowley Tauranga City Councillor

Cutting stuff is more fun than measuring; especially for a child starting a wood technology class at intermediate school.

But I've always remembered my father's advice to measure twice, cut once.

So when it comes to next week's deliberations to finalise council's budget for next year, we'll be measuring up our priorities against your priorities from submissions.

This is why we've been quiet this week. We've been briefed on the big issues so we can have an informed debate next week.

The biggest issue is how do we fund our stormwater programme? If the council agrees to the 4.7 per cent stormwater levy, then we have raised about $5 million out of $200 million, to put into a reserve required to fix the problem.

Let's fix the problem when we have a complete solution. If that's nine months away; great, let's spend the money then. If we want to avoid flooding across our city, let's avoid half-hearted solutions.

Let's measure twice and cut once, as we'll need the same level of scrutiny – whether we we're spending your money on stormwater, a stadium, or a museum.

In other news, I owe my Facebook ‘likers' a bouquet for their constructive feedback on key issues council will be debating next week. I've asked them about parking revenue in the CBD, tourism, recreation, and other issues.

I was also thrilled to discuss Tauranga's strengths to several NZ ambassadors to countries in South America, Asian, Europe, Australia and the Pacific. They toured the region and had visited many local exporters. I enjoyed showing them how we're moving beyond the $10 Tauranga cliché, while being honest about the challenges we face in growing the local economy.

Since my contentious blog on the ‘Bushfire in the CBD', we've seen another co-working space pop up and another co-working space triple in size. There are issues facing the CBD, but I'm pleased there is also green-growth wanting to sprout if we allow it to happen.

It's these type of ‘first floor and above' developments which are growing the demand in council's carpark buildings. Did you know the carpark buildings are near 85 per cent occupancy? It shows people are coming into the CBD.

Did I mention you can park in the carpark buildings for free on weekends? On Mondays you can park in the Spring St building and only pay $1 for three hours while being sheltered from the weather.

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