Waterloo looks to take bylaw infraction tickets out of local court system

Peopleissued a ticket under a city bylaw in Waterloo may soon go to city hall if they want to fight it rather than in front of a judge.

City councillors are considering a staff recommendation to change the way bylaw tickets are handled. In a report before councillors Monday afternoon, staff are suggesting switching bylaw tickets to an administrative monetary penalty system rather than a ticket under the Provincial Offences Act.

The change would impact 22 bylaws, including those related to noise, public nuisance, lot maintenance and property standards, animal control, fireworks, snow and ice and business licensing. The move is permitted under the province's Municipal Act and the Building Code Act.

The idea is bylaw staff would issue a ticket, and if someonefeels it'sunfair and wishes to appeal it, that person can set up a meeting with city staff rather than go to court.

The system allows bylaw staff to mail tickets or send them electronically rather than hand them out in person. Fines can be paid or appealed online. If people don't pay the fine, the amount owing can be added to their property taxes if they're a resident. People who aren't residents would have unpaid fines sent to a third-party collections agency, the staff report said.

Used for parking tickets since 2019

It's not a new idea. The city has used the administrative monetary penalty system for all parking tickets since mid-2019, and staff say in a report the move "proved to be extremely effective."

Waterloo is also not alone in using it other cities that have implemented administrative monetary penalty systems include London, Brampton, Kingston, Prince Edward County and the Municipality of French River.

Moving more bylaw infractions to this system would "make the legal process more efficient, user-friendly and less intimidating," the city staff report said.

The system would be a "major improvement over the current, formal provincial offences court process, which can be daunting for many people," the report said.

The report noted under the current parking system, 92 per cent of tickets where people asked for them to be screened or reviewed there was a "favourable outcome offered to the ticket holder." People unhappy with the screening process can ask for a hearing at city hall.

Staff consulted with the city's Indigenous Initiatives, Anti-Racism, Accessibility and Equity division, and found there would likely be opportunities "to implement mediation and restorative justice principles" in the future.

The other big benefit to switching to this new system is that it frees up the local court system to deal with more "pressing issues," staff said.

If approved, staff said, there would be an anticipated increase in annual operating expenses, including paying for independent hearing officers, but they also "anticipate a more consistent collection of ticket revenue and of unpaid fines."

The system could also be rolled out to other cities in the region. Waterloo has partnered with Kitchener and Cambridge on the research, with Waterloo taking the lead in the development of the system, the staff report said.