Tauranga City Council's new CEO, Ken Paterson, was given an official Maori whakatau from the three city iwi today.

But unlike his former Bay of Plenty Regional Council counterpart, Bill Bayfield, who took a delegation of 11 people from Whakatane to Christchurch for his whakatau, Ken's was a more modest affair – in keeping with the stereotype of his Scottish heritage.

Tauranga City Council's news CEO Ken Paterson at his whakatau today.

He is coming to the role from his position as CEO at the Northland Regional Council.

'He came on his own, but what we did do was we found three Scottish born staff members to support him,” says Tauranga Mayor Stuart Crosby.

'It was an opportunity for the combined iwi of Tauranga Moana to welcome him into the city, so we had three key kaumatua speak for his welcome and I also said a few words and he responded.

'Then we had a cup of tea and a biscuit, and that was the end of it.”

It was a relatively last minute event, planned within the last three or four days, says Stuart.

Ken takes up his new job on July 11 and he is being firmly directed by the council to save money.

At the rates and annual plan approval meetings this week, councillors rejected Rick Curach's motion to ask the new CEO to save them $2 million, but they immediately endorsed a resolution that the new CEO save money – without specifying an amount.

The annual plan sees a rates revenue increase of 11.4 per cent, which translates into an average household increase of 10.4 per cent or $194 per year.

There are major infrastructure projects totalling $86 million in the plan.

These include:

$16 million on the Southern Pipeline

$8.1 million on other wastewater projects

$8.7 million on stormwater and drainage

$14.4 million on water supply

$18.7 million on roading

$4.7 million on parks

$1.3 million on libraries

To get to this, the councillors cut $60 million off the expenditure they had planned for in the council's Ten Year Plan by cutting items or deferring projects.

Deferred items will be reconsidered as the council develops its next Ten Year Plan later this year.

Other features of this annual plan expenditure for 2011/12 include:

• Installation of tsunami warning sirens for 80 per cent of the population in the high risk areas: Papamoa, the Mount and around Tauranga's inner harbour.
• Support in principle for the government's financial assistance package for leaky homes homeowners.
• Retaining overall responsibility for the Frank Sydenham reserve and establishing a community trust to take responsibility for future development.
• Closing the Mount Maunganui service desk.

The adoption of the annual plan was supported by a vote of 10-1, with a full copy of it available online next week.