BRUCEDALE – If bylaw officers have to revisit your home or business again and again because you are not in compliance with bylaws in Guelph/Eramosa, there will be a fee for that.
Bylaw officer Ivan Lunevski told Guelph/Eramosa council at its Dec. 19 meeting that 60 per cent of bylaw officers’ time is spent on field inspections and the department is finding that re-inspections due to non-compliance continue to increase.
He recommended introducing a non-compliance inspection fee as a way to recover some of those costs.
“We try to exercise leniency,” Lunevski said, adding that education is the main goal of bylaw officers.
He said they prefer to issue warnings and give a home owner the chance to correct whatever bylaw they have broken.
But there are times when bylaw officers have to revisit a home – sometimes repeatedly – only to find orders and notices have been ignored.
These are the times when inspection fees would be charged.
“It’s not meant to be punitive,” Lunevski added.
“It’s about cost recovery. These cases can take extensive work and staff time.”
Bylaw officers already use discretion when responding to complaints, and discretion would be used in these re-inspections as well, he said.
Councillor Mark Bouwmeester said he’d rather have the rules written in black and white to avoid favouritism, but Mayor Chris White said discretion is often the best way to gain compliance.
“But if you have chronic re-offenders, cost-recovery makes sense,” White said.
Council unanimously supported the recommendation.
