Tauranga's mayor and councillors are set to hear from close to 300 people over four days during Long Term Plan (LTP) 2018-2028 hearings starting tomorrow.
The LTP consultation ran from March 16 to April 16 and attracted more than 3200 submissions. The hearings will be held tomorrow, May 10, 14 and 15 between 9am and 5pm, with an extra date set aside on May 21 in case more time is needed.
Mayor Greg Brownless said the level of interest in the consultation showed Tauranga residents and ratepayers were keen to be heard.
"I want to thank our community for taking the time to express their views on our spending commitments, what kind of facilities they think we'll need in years to come, and what they think we should prioritise over the coming decade," Brownless said.
"We've had an excellent response from our community and we'll use this feedback to help shape the way we manage our growing city."
Most submissions were on the key topics outlined in the consultation document: rating structure changes; investment in public transport and roading; waste and recycling options; museum and library proposals; elder housing provision; funding for the tourism sector; and tsunami alerts and resilience.
Council also received submissions on the Cycle Plan, as well as other topics such as sport and community facilities; boardwalks and walkways; parks and reserve areas; environmental and harbour issues; city centre development; youth engagement; multicultural Tauranga and diversity; volunteers; disability; and homelessness.
