Erin has allocated money for a bylaw officer in its 2016 draft, but how the municipality got to that point is anyone’s guess.
Much of the discussion has been held in closed meetings.
Councillor Rob Smith first asked for a report on different bylaw enforcement options in September and council discussed the motion in October.
Smith asked council to direct staff to provide a report on the cost, advantages, disadvantages and any other considerations of employing a full-time bylaw officer to provide both proactive and complaint-driven enforcement of the town’s bylaws.
The report did not come up again until Jan. 13, when the budget was brought to council for discussion. CAO Kathryn Ironmonger explained it would be a shared position with another municipality, but would not say which one.
“We can have a trained individual that is used to going to court, at producing court documents and I’m not sure if I’m at liberty to say which municipality at this point; I’m not sure if they’ve put it in the budget as well,” said Ironmonger.
She added, “that was the direction that council had indicated a preference to.”
However, councillor Jeff Duncan said he didn’t think they had discussed the position.
“Unless I missed that meeting, I don’t believe we dealt with councillor Smith’s resolution about what to do with the bylaw, whether we are going to go full-time, be proactive, this is all News to me,” Duncan said.
Mayor Allan Alls confirmed council had not made a decision, but was considering providing the funds this year.
“But if we are entering into a contract with another municipality to provide services, I think that’s going down the road pretty far,” said Duncan.
Alls said Ironmonger would bring a report when that happens.
Smith also questioned the process, stating, “I was asking for a breakdown of what it would cost to have a full-time (officer).”
Ironmonger said, “I don’t know if you remember the discussion; you decided to have a full-time bylaw enforcement officer. The costing associated of having that activity of enforcement needs to be reflective (in the budget).”
Smith replied, “The point is I asked for (a report) and never got it … I never ever did receive what it would cost for full time.”
The issue resurfaced in Erin at the Jan. 19 council meeting, when resident Anna Spiteri asked council if the bylaw officer will be part of the next budget discussion.
“At this point it’s a closed session item until council brings it out,” responded Ironmonger.
The Advertiser spoke with Alls about the issue on Jan. 20. He confirmed the bylaw officer position was discussed in closed session because it was about an identifiable individual.
Alls explained the report Smith asked for “was delivered last night in closed session, the report, the costs all the rest of the parameters that would go with it, and the individual. It was all part of the report, which will be made public, but at the time, because there was some negotiations going on, we can’t really discuss it.”
While Erin has kept the process in closed session, citing an “identifiable individual, HR matter,” several Guelph-Eramosa officials have stated they currently have no one in mind for the shared bylaw enforcement officer position.
During budget discussions on Jan. 13, Guelph-Eramosa clerk Meaghen Reid stated the township is considering sharing a permanent full-time bylaw enforcement officer with Erin.
“I think for both municipalities to be on board, I think our idea was still to go through a formal recruitment process,” said Reid.
Guelph-Eramosa CAO Ian Roger added, “We’d both take part in the hiring process to make sure we were both happy with the candidate.”
On Jan. 21 Guelph-Eramosa Mayor Chris White confirmed the township does not have anyone in mind for the position, noting the current bylaw officer is on contract.
When asked why bylaw enforcement options were not presented in open session in Erin, Alls said, “It was complicated because of what’s going on between the two communities and very difficult to narrow down. Hopefully we’ll come back with a report shortly.”
– With files from Jaime Myslik
