Matt Cowley Tauranga City Councillor

Tauranga's confident and strong economy is the envy of many other regions. Most of our economic spike is associated with the construction boom. In the past, this has led to boom, bust cycles.

We recently reviewed our role in supporting the local economy. It led to the beginning of our economic portfolio, which is still evolving. This portfolio will guide us on whether we support initiatives that claim to have economic benefits.

For instance, during a quiet economic cycle, a focus on tourism and events can attract money into the city quite quickly and employ lots of people.

However, job pay-levels in the tourism and events industries are typically low. If we aspire to increase personal incomes across the region, we will need a few longer-term projects.

The university is a great example of a long-term project aimed at increasing the region's productivity and encouraging knowledge-based industries.

We're consulting the community on our proposed economic development priorities for next year. After tourism funding was cut during the last economic recession, we're proposing to increase it for better marketing and visitor information services.

We're also proposing a few long-term initiatives, such as digital enablement and international strategies. Both initiatives aim at helping local businesses connect and compete on the global stage.

Our economic development initiatives are funded by a targeted rate on commercial properties. The majority of commercial ratepayers will continue to pay less than $100 for economic development, which is one of the cheapest rates compared to other urban councils in NZ.

Don't forget, you have until April 4 to give us your feedback on our proposed Annual Plan for next year. Visit www.tauranga.govt.nz for more information.

Feel free to email me your thoughts (matt.cowley@tauranga.govt.nz), call/text me on 0276989548, and follow me at www.facebook.com/a.younger.voice.