West Nipissing plans to speed up by-law enforcement

West Nipissing council is amping up how by-law fines are collected.

The municipality is working on implementing an Administrative Penalty System (AMPS) process that will allow the municipality to collect fines from by-law infraction. Any disputes will be handled by the municipality, by external Screening and Hearing Officers who can “modify, cancel, or affirm penalties,” noted Brigitte Carriere, Deputy Treasurer, in a report to council.

The AMPS process is “certainly becoming more common” in municipalities, explained Alissa Craddock, Director of Corporate Services. She reminded council that “when we lay fines they eventually end up in court in North Bay and that can take time to go through that process.”

She averaged about 18 to 30 months for a challenge to a by-law ticket to conclude through the courts. The AMPS process “is a faster process, because we’re not worrying about the backlog of court time.” It won’t be a provincial offence fine, it will be an AMPS fine, she added.

See: By-law breakers beware in West Nipissing

Currently, it can take years to collect a by-law infraction fine. Under AMPS, the municipality expects it will take a few months. However, not all tickets are challenged in courts. About 18 per cent of West Nipissing parking tickets end up in court.

Under the AMPS program, the unpaid fines will be added to a property owners’ tax-bill, as they currently are. Unpaid parking fines through AMPS “result in plate denial until payment including administrative costs are paid in full,” Craddock’s report to council detailed.

Overall, council is interested in implementing the new program to speed up by-law enforcement. For example, if a charge sits in the court system for 18 months, that complaint cannot be dealt with until that case clears.

“This system is a lot more streamlined,” West Nipissing’s CAO Jay Barbeau stated.

The first step is to update by-laws governing traffic and parking, property standards, outdoor burning, short term rentals, animal control and private entrances to incorporate the new AMPS system.

Beginning with these by-laws will allow the municipality “to get into the process and see how the process runs,” Craddock said. The first drafts of those updates will return to council in the near future for further discussion.

David Briggs is a Local Journalism Initiative reporter who works out of BayToday, a publication of Village Media. The Local Journalism Initiative is funded by the Government of Canada.