Matt Cowley Tauranga City Councillor

There are many issues on Tauranga City Council's ‘to do' list for 2015. They include major decisions I'm eager to resolve.

The biggest item on our agenda this year is council's Long Term Plan. The plan sets out what services council will provide during the next 10 years and who pays for each service.

We will ask for your feedback during April before we finalise the plan in June. I will write about some of the key issues in future columns.

The Long Term Plan will now need to consider the future of council's main office building, following the discovery of toxic mould. We will look at the most cost-effective solution, whether it's doing repairs, demolishing and building new, or selling and leasing office space.

I would like to thank council staff who've continued to deliver services while they're either working from home or scattered around buildings throughout the CBD.

The issue of psychoactive substances, otherwise known as legal synthetic highs, has not gone away. Council will need to set the city's rules on where and how legal highs can be retailed later in the year.

I'm especially excited about developing the city's Digital Strategy. Part of the strategy is about the council operating like most other businesses in the 21st Century. But it's also about empowering residents in the digital era, including the young, elderly and everyone in between.

Council will also strategise with Western Bay of Plenty District Council on our combined approaches to sub-regional matters such as waste management, arts and culture, economic development and tourism.

Save the date February 20, as the local creative community are holding community talks on the city's Public Art Policy.

Councillors will need to make some very tough, and sometimes painful, decisions to maintain each of our separate campaign promises. This year will be the judgement year for this elected council.

However, the first big decision of 2015 is in the hands of Mount Maunganui and Papamoa residents.

They will elect their second ward representative to sit on council, which has been vacant since Clayton Mitchell was elected into Parliament last October. This postal election will be held in February 2015.

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.