Straight from city council A personal view, by Councillor Steve Morris

We're investing a record $360m this year in our rapidly-growing city; much of it toward new hard infrastructure like roads, water, sewage and stormwater. Some items have been reported elsewhere such as grants toward rebuilds of both the Mount and Papamoa Surf Rescue Bases and a third hockey turf at Blake Park. There will be a trial next Easter of a one-way system along Pilot Bay incorporating an off-road cycle lane and more parking.

Tauranga City Council funded an additional $100,000 toward the Wairoa River cycle bridge but deferred the request from Western Bay Council for an additional $500,000 until we know if this council will receive a $250m grant from government. This is needed to pay for the requirement they imposed on council to have 10 years of land ready for developers to build on and prevent some big rates rises because of it. It hasn't helped that the Mayor of the Western Bay has been telling government politicians that Tauranga shouldn't get any grant because our rates are ‘too low' by comparison to theirs. This sort of thing doesn't help the relationship between councils and provides comfort to amalgamists out there.

Several other things weren't reported such as $10m toward the Papamoa East Interchange with the TEL which we hope to have open in 2021, and a big $5.5m ‘switch' towards energy saving LED street lighting around the city (85 per cent subsidised by NZTA). There is $25.5m to finish the southern sewage pipeline and upgrade Te Maunga sewage treatment plant – a basic municipal function since Roman times!