Tauranga City Council will be saying goodbye to Garry Poole today as he wraps up his last day as CEO today.

In October last year, Councillors chose to advertise the Chief Executive role to ensure Council had long-term leadership.

In a statement released earlier this year, Garry said he's proud of what has been achieved over the past five years.

'While I'm disappointed to not have been reappointed, I am very proud of what we have been able to do. We have faced some challenging times, as you do when you're growing.”

Marty Grenfell will be taking over the role.

The former Whakatane District Council chief executive used to be the senior manager at Upper Hutt Council and has 20 years' experience with the NZ Police.

Mayor Greg Brownless says the appointment reflects a new direction for Council.

'Tauranga City Council is facing some challenging questions as we balance growth with the delivery of our core services. Our Long-Term Plan is ambitious but if accepted would mean higher rates, and we need to consider that,” said Greg earlier this year.

'Elected Members believe that Marty will have a strong focus on delivering the best possible services and facilities in a cost-effective manner, and we will ask that he looks at our priorities for the city and what we can manage.”