Liverpool mayor Ned Mannoun has asked residents to be patient as council workers struggle to cope with the damage and debris caused by freakish storms and winds that saturated the area.
He said council’s clean-up squads were fully extended with removing fallen branches and coping with a surge in grass growth brought on by exceptionally heavy rain.
“These are exceptional circumstances and the damage has been widespread,” Mr Mannoun said.
“Our squads are working as hard as they can to get through the backlog of requests for help but the workload is enormous.
“Our crews will work through the backlog as quickly as possible – barring more severe weather.
“Remember that Liverpool is three times the size of our near neighbour Fairfield and the storm caused widespread damage to our community. It takes time to reach all council owned property and parks.”
Mayor Mannoun said idyllic conditions of heavy and consistent rain and high temperatures had caused grass to grow speedily.
“Crews have to wait for the ground to dry out, so they can use their heavy machinery without damaging the ground,” he said.
“We understand concerns about the long grass and we thank residents’ for their patience. Council will get to your suburb as soon as possible.”
Mr Mannoun said the clean-up program had been hampered by the selfishness of some residents who continued adding rubbish and unwanted household good to the clean-up.
“That just slows the program and is unfair to other residents in our community waiting for the clean-up crews to arrive,” he said.
[social_quote duplicate=”no” align=”default”]“This is not a rubbish and junk collection. Council is cleaning up storm damage so people can get on with their lives.[/social_quote]
“There are severe penalties for illegal dumping and council’s compliance are investigating a number of recent cases of illegal dumping,” Mr Mannoun said.
As long as the clean up includes him packing his bags and leaving Liverpool alone then I’m very happy with that request.