Hastings District Council yesterday defended a staff member whose apparent haphazard out-of-town parking across two disabled spots was snapped on social media.
But Mayor Lawrence Yule said the incident was not a good look.
Wellington man Maika Bennett posted a shot of the sign-written council car on Twitter on Saturday.
He said he snapped it at the car park of the Wellington Regional Aquatic Centre at 7.30am and the car was still there when he left the centre at 10am.
The unnamed council staff member was "on legitimate business" attending an event at the Aquatic Centre and parked across painted lines because of the way other vehicles were parked around them, a senior council manager said yesterday.