Horowhenua council votes to partially reinstate berm mowing service after community outcry

The Horowhenua District Council has voted to reinstate berm mowing in some cases. Photo / Unsplash

Berm mowing is back in the Horowhenua District Council budget, for some berms at least.

In July this year, the council stopped mowing urban berms as a way to save $240,000 a year.

The decision wasn’t popular with some residents, and pressure was put on the council to reconsider the decision.

It was back on the table at last week’s council meeting, with a range of options discussed by elected members.

The options ranged from not reinstating berm mowing at all through to reinstating it completely. Other options suggested mowing some berms on particular routes, or of a particular size.

After discussion, elected members voted 8-3 in favour of reinstating some but not all of the berm mowing that had been stopped in July.

Council will now mow berms at the entrances and exits from towns, and along roads with a speed limit of 70km/h or more.

Councillors Mike Barker and Jonathan Procter voted against the decision, as did Horowhenua Mayor Bernie Wanden.

Councillor Sam Jennings was in favour or reinstating berm mowing for all properties. He said when the council first decided to stop mowing berms, he believed it was the right decision.

But after seeing the pressure it added to people, he was no longer sure it was a good decision.

“I question whether this was actually a good move.”

Jennings said one of the issues with the old berm mowing process was gaps and unfairness, with some people paying for a service they didn’t get, and the only option that could solve that was to reinstate berm mowing completely.

Māori ward councillor Justin Tamihana said it wasn’t fair for the council to expect people to mow their berms without letting them do anything on them.

In a press release after the meeting, Wanden said the decision addressed many of the concerns that had been raised by residents.

“I know this is important to many of you and while the decision is a compromise, it aims to address key concerns raised by the community. Council has worked to find a practical solution that balances service delivery while being mindful of the financial pressures for our ratepayers.”

Changes to berm mowing are not included in the Long-Term Plan budget that was approved in June. The additional $80,000 cost will be met from the existing Growth Reserves budget, with subsequent reductions in levels of service for the current financial year.