Parking, traffic, animal control and property standards continued to be top concerns in Bradford during the first half of this year.
Following a record for all of last year, this year the town’s bylaw enforcement division continued to see calls for service increase by more than 15 per cent to 1,631 between Jan. 1 and June 30, compared to 1,415 in the same time last year, according to a report from Robert Belsey, manager of enforcement, included as part of the regular council meeting on Aug. 6.
Compared to the first half of 2023, for the first half of 2024, the report listed the most frequent calls as:
- 789 about traffic (17 per cent increase)
- 271 about animal control (45 per cent increase)
- 201 about property standards/clean yards (26 per cent increase)
- 66 about yard waste/garbage (no change)
- 56 about zoning (20 per cent decrease)
- 51 about noise and nuisance (35 per cent decrease)
Despite seeing the rise in calls as “unfortunate,” Ward 5. Coun Peter Ferragine thanked Belsey and his staff for dealing with issues in the community, noting “it’s not an easy job that you do,” and Mayor James Leduc echoed that sentiment.
Ward 4 Coun. Joseph Giordano highlighted the “significant” increase in property standards issues as something that is “challenging” for staff to handle, adding he’s worked with residents in his own ward to address it, because in some cases “it’s becoming an eyesore,” and “affecting people’s quality of life.”
In some areas, that’s a “continuous” issue, especially on Miller Park Avenue across from Zehrs, according to Ward 1 Coun. Cheraldean Duhaney, who asked if fines or other penalties can be issued to prevent unauthorized dumping.
“There’s a number of different tools in the toolbelt that communities can use,” Belsey said in response.
When it comes to commercial areas people treat “like it’s their own personal dumping ground,” the manager of enforcement explained solutions can range from adding more waste bins for simple littering, to increased enforcement and conversations with property managers for more serious issues like regularly dumping large piles of debris.
While officers have the ability to enforce bylaws related to clean yards and littering, Belsey cautioned that certain thresholds need to be met first, and methods to recuperate staff costs are typically reserved for situations of neglect.
“The message we would give to the community is that we all have a part to play,” he said. “It’s 100 per cent unsightly and unacceptable that people feel emboldened to deposit garbage where they do not have permission to do so.”
While Belsey committed that the department will continue to work with the community to resolve those issues, he feels they frequently come down to “a matter of convenience” for perpetrators, and emphasized that “education plays a large part.”
Duhaney also asked about the decreased number of noise complaints, noting that she hears about the issue from residents “almost every single day.” Belsey explained that many noise complaints may come in after hours, in which case they are typically handled by South Simcoe Police Service, and not counted towards requests for the town’s bylaw enforcement officers.
Another area of increase for the department was parking tickets, and in the first half of this year, they issued 3,382, an increase of 16 per cent compared to the 2,916 in the same time last year.
The process for handling parking tickets involves less court involvement thanks to the town’s administrative monetary penalty system (AMPS), through which 3,040 were paid (including some issued the previous year) and 368 were cancelled.
As a result of unpaid tickets, the town requested 1,009 licence plate denials from from the Ministry of Transportation.
In terms of revenue for the first half of the year, business licences have brought in $8,245 of the budgeted $13,270 due to fewer taxicab drivers, refreshment vehicles and hawker/peddler licences, while dog licences brought in $12,225 of the $15,730 budgeted.
On the plus side, provincial offences fines have brought in $60,958, far more than the $25,000 budgeted. That’s largely due to payments from the Barrie courts for parking tickets issued before the switch to the AMPS on Nov. 8, 2023, according to the report.
A separate report on the town’s speed camera program is anticipated to come from the corporate services department in September.
