A Rotorua woman has taken it upon herself to mow overgrowing berms in her city, with some grass growing weeds as high as her.
Restore Rotorua member Tracey McLeod told AM areas around Rotorua are growing wild.
"There have been some really overgrown areas around Rotorua for the last several months now including roadsides, traffic islands, tourist attractions, walkways, reserves - the list goes on," she said.
McLeod said she and other residents have complained to the Rotorua Lakes District Council about the overgrown city, but to no avail.
"I've regularly emailed the chief executive, the Mayor, the councillors and I've also put in a request for service to the council."
McLeod said she spent 25 hours last week mowing the overgrown lawns in and around the suburb of Glenholme.
"There's a couple of reserves where the roadside had got really long, there was the entrance to the RedWoods forest, I mean that's a tourist attraction so I thought that was quite an important area.
"It's obvious they haven't been mowed for months."
McLeod told AM she's "disappointed" in the council and believes the city isn't "getting the service it deserves".
Rotorua Lakes District Council community wellbeing deputy chief executive Anaru Pewhairangi told the NZ Herald its team had been working "incredibly hard" to keep up with its mowing schedule.
Pewhairangi added further part-time staff will be employed by the council's contractor to assist with its mowing schedule.
"Last year, New Zealand experienced its warmest and wettest winter on record according to NIWA and we have had an incredibly wet summer as well," Pewhairangi told the Herald, adding Rotorua wasn't the only region battling wild grass growth.
Update - Council's response (added February 28, 2023):
In the interview, McLeod claimed the council has cut back on core services such as mowing. The Council said this is not true. McLeod also said the new Mayor and Councillors have increased their salaries. The council said in response "Elected Members pool of remuneration is set independently by the Remuneration Authority, not by the Elected Members themselves."
