(File photo/paNOW Staff)

By Alison Sandstrom

Shifting responsibility

Bylaw unit to be operated by City, not police

Jul 2, 2020 | 2:34 PM

Responsibility for Prince Albert’s bylaw enforcement unit is shifting back to the City of P.A. after 14 years as part of the Prince Albert Police Service.

City council approved the move at Monday night’s meeting.

The change is designed to give the City a bigger role in the unit’s priorities, while saving money on the salaries.

Mayor Greg Dionne told council salaries exploded when bylaw officers became part of the police union.

“Other bylaw officers in this province range anywhere from $50,000 to $62,000. Ours are up to $105,000,” he said. “Do they wear gold? Are they twice as better as other bylaw officers? No.”

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Bylaw will now report to the Director of Planning and Development Services and work out of City Hall. Priorities will include housing and property issues, business license concerns, nuisance abatement issues, boarded up homes, unkempt yards and illegal dumping.

“As a City, we know more about the bylaw infractions that concern residents the most,” Dionne said in a media release. “We create the bylaws and should have a more direct role in their enforcement.”

The move involves defunding the annual police budget by $355,000, to be redirected towards the operation of a City Municipal Bylaw Enforcement Unit. At this point it’s unclear how much money the City will save because salaries still have to be negotiated.

A funding model for the City Municipal Bylaw Enforcement Unit, including the number of bylaw officers to be hired, will be presented to city council at a future meeting.

The bylaw unit under the police comprised a manager and seven special constables, five of whom have been trained as community safety officers.

Two community safety officers will be kept on by the police service and continue to provide support for members on patrol, the city said in the media release.

Director of planning and development services, Craig Guidinger, told council he had some new ideas for how to make the bylaw unit more accessible to the public and city council. He also said the Police Chief had assured him, the service would assist the new municipal bylaw unit in any way they could.

“I know that we’ll have a very positive ongoing relationship with the CSOs [community safety officers], and he stated that they are just a phone call away,” Guidinger explained.

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alison.sandstrom@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @alisandstrom