Fife Council is struggling to keep on top of grass cutting as a result of budget cuts and the so called pingdemic.
Grass and weeds have grown as high as shoulder-height along paths, roadside verges and in parks.
And councillors have been inundated with complaints from the public about the state of some areas.
At one point during the summer, as many as 20% of parks staff were off after being pinged by the NHS app.
The app alerts people if they have been in close contact with someone who has tested positive for Covid and tells them to self-isolate.
The council’s environment spokesman, Councillor Ross Vettraino, conceded the service was struggling but urged people to raise concerns about specific areas with their local representatives.
Services are struggling to cope
Tay Bridgehead councillor Tim Brett has received several complaints.
“There are a number of council services really struggling at the moment,” he said.
“The contact centre, bin collections, bits of transportation and the parks service are all affected.
“We’re getting lots of calls from people complaining that regular areas of grass cutting have not been done.
“Frequently it feels as if these services are struggling to cope.”
The Liberal Democrat councillor said the parks department was very good at responding to calls and was doing its best.
However, he added: “It’s the summer, it’s warmer and we’ve also had a lot of rain.
“Everything it growing like mad as it tends to do in the summer.
“But what we’re concerned about is is it just this year because of Covid or will this be the case every year?”
A council-wide rewilding programme, where some areas are left to grow to help cut carbon emissions, has also upset some people.
“Areas are now being left wild, which I’m generally supportive of but not everybody is,” Mr Brett said.
Parks service is listening
Despite his concerns, Mr Brett praised the parks service for listening to complaints.
“There was a situation in Guardbridge where part of the park was left for rewilding,” he said.
“A path was cut through the grass but the community wasn’t happy and said there wasn’t enough space to walk their dogs etc.
“Parks have now come back and cut a bit more.
“While there is still lots of uncut grass I thank the parks service for listening to the community and responding.”
Mr Vettraino said reporting concerns was definitely the way to go.
“The service has been struggling to maintain the grass cutting standards which people have been used to,” he said.
“There are several reasons for that, one being financial resources were allocated elsewhere.
“More recently, a spike in absenteeism caused by Covid has added to the problem.”
He added: “Locally, decisions have been taken in area committees about priorities.
“I would hope any communities particularly concerned about this would make it known through their local councillors.”