By Taylor MacPherson

Bylaw unit’s animal control policies up for review

Oct 16, 2017 | 12:00 PM

The city’s bylaw unit will be reviewing their procedures around animal control over the next month and conducting a broader strategic review over the winter in an effort to save resources without reducing service.

At today’s meeting of the Prince Albert Board of Police Commissioners, Police Chief Troy Cooper said he intends to review the bylaw unit’s procedures around animal control to enforce the city’s laws more efficiently. Cooper also announced a broader strategic review of the city’s bylaw enforcement unit, which is intended to reduce the time between complaint and resolution, and will be conducted over the winter.

Cooper said the city’s bylaw officers are more proactive than ever when it comes to traffic enforcement, but they need to devise ways to become more efficient in other areas.

“As they get more authority to do enforcement around traffic control and that sort of thing, it makes less and less sense for them to spend their time doing some of the duties that might not need that kind of training and that kind of expertise,” Cooper said. “Animal control is a really good example of that.”

Cooper said assigning a single bylaw officer as a dedicated dog-catcher may make more sense than every officer incorporating animal control duties into their day.

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“About 40 per cent of their time is spent on animal control,” Cooper said. “You’ve got a pretty expensive resource addressing animal control.”

Cooper said animal control is still a priority for the city, but a dedicated animal control officer could likely do the job more efficiently. Dealing with animals requires some specialized training, he said, and criminal investigations involving animal bites are quite unique.

One hundred and forty-five animal control incidents accounted for 35.5 per cent of the city’s bylaw activity in September, according to last month’s Bylaw Unit Activity Report. Bylaw officers have responded to 1,372 animal control issues so far in 2017, a decline of roughly five per cent from 2016.

The results of the animal control review will be presented at the November police commissioners meeting, Cooper said.

Broad strategic review planned

Mayor Greg Dionne said the Police Commissioners will conduct a strategic review with the city’s bylaw unit over the winter months in an effort to reduce the delays between complaints and resolutions, particularly when it comes to unsightly properties.

For example, Dionne said, the Weed Act is controlled by the province and requires the city give 30-day notice before any penalty can be imposed. In a month, Dionne said, two-foot weeds can become three-foot weeds and residents often grow frustrated by the apparent inaction from the city.

“For 30 days everyone’s mad at you because it just festers and gets worse,” Dionne said. “That should be down to four or five days.”

Dionne said he’d like to hear the top concerns the bylaw unit has so council can petition the province to help reduce the delays. Any other issues brought forward by the bylaw officers will also be included in the review, which Dionne said he would like to conduct annually.

Cooper said the timeline for the strategic review has not yet been finalized, but he expects to bring results before the police commissioners by springtime.

Taylor.macpherson@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @TMacPhersonNews