"Stuff that matters, better water, better air to breathe, the living health of our country."
Core business didn't include what he called "fluffy stuff" such as environmental education from the former Green RIG. The council's current environmental education spend through Enviroschools was better value for money because it had buy-in from the schools, he said.
"We are only the facilitator. It's a different animal but it's doing the same job, and it's not costing the ratepayer $300,000 a year."
He also wants to make sure spending in the Sustainable Land Use Initiative (SLUI) keeps sediment on hills, providing "bang for the buck".
"In the past we have spent a lot of good money in stupid places, to get the tick from [the Ministry for Primary Industries]."
He said central government was trying to push new tasks, such as afforestation, on to ratepayers. In May, it stopped funding regional forestry at a cost of $750,000 a year. He didn't want ratepayers to pick up that expense.
Council staff tended to embrace new tasks because they enlarged their empire, he said.
"In my next term, I want to see a governance-led council, not a management-led council."
Mr Cox is not against all spending. He's ecstatic the Anzac Pde stopbank will be repaired this summer, and will be paid for "in one hit".
"We are repairing an old one that's in disrepair, and it's financed in a very different way," he said.
He's also trying to get funding for initiatives like a recreational facility at Wanganui's port, and river enhancement.
"I'm really wanting to push pride in the river, because our river is pivotal."