The first city council meeting held outside the Tauranga City Council chambers since the modern city was established in 1989 is hailed a big success, says community development committee chairman Steve Morris.

Around 60 people gathered at the Papamoa Community Centre on Tuesday to hear from elected members about items on the agenda.

Steve Morris attended the first council meeting to be held in the community in Papamoa on Tuesday.

'It was awesome and just judging from some of the comments from elected members it was really great to have a meeting where we have that number of people instead of the usual one or two.”

The age range also set the meeting apart, with Steve recalling a teenager, and people in their 20s and 30s, as well as senior citizens.

'It was a really good community meeting and we had a cross section of people there.”

The agenda was Papamoa focussed with reports for discussion from the Wairakei Community Group, and an update on the Papamoa Eastern Corridor Growth Area. Other items were about roading and evacuation routes.

'We had presentations from staff with elected members introducing staff and an open floor discussion afterwards where standing orders were relaxed and people could ask questions of staff, of us, or they could make a statement or give an instruction,” says Steve.

'The really cool thing is staff were there not being paid overtime. They love their city as well.”

There were also two customer services staff at the rear of the meeting with a lap top so any service requests were able to be entered into the system immediately.

'There was general agreement that they quite liked the fact that we were coming out into the suburbs.

'I think it's acknowledgement that we are trying to change the way we do business. Changing the way we relate to the community, rather than being a centralised top down thing, to embrace localism and bottom-up decision making.”

An audience question Steve fielded from a teenager and a bloke in his 20s was why there are not environmental imperatives coming out of the city council.

'That was a completely new viewpoint to what we are used to listening to.”

He replied that if people want their views expressed in the council, they have to vote.

Voter turnout last election was 39 per cent, says Steve.

'Elected members will listen to what the voters say. If the voters are asking for one thing then the elected members will act accordingly.

'If people are asking as they have done, asked for more financial discipline to tackle the debt well that's what we are doing in this annual plan. We are acting according to our instructions from the voters.

'If you don't vote there is no constituency for your views.”

The next meeting to be held in the community will be in July in Matua.