CENTRE WELLINGTON – Both council and township staff agreed that additional bylaw support is necessary to keep up with their growing population as bylaw complaints continue to rise.
The conversation was prompted during a council meeting Monday afternoon after municipal clerk Kerri O'Kane shared that the township recently put forward a draft to update their current noise bylaws.
Presented within the annual municipal law enforcement report, as of June 2023, Centre Wellington is 146 per cent above the municipality's three-year average for bylaw complaints.
“Centre Wellington always leads the way in need for these things,” said O'Kane, during the meeting. “In the other municipalities, while they may not have a need for it now, (they may) in the future.”
With 118 complaints filed so far this year, projections show an additional 224 complaints are expected, which would mean 342 for the entire 2023 year.
In 2022, staff responded to 246 complaints; a 6.5 per cent increase from 2021 and a 15 per cent increase compared to the previous four-year averages.
“As the township grows, the increased volume of complaints/investigations will require new cost-effective and efficient systems to help expedite processes,” said the report. “However, growth of services cannot be attained if there is no additional staff to provide such services.”
Citing calls about noise complaints from residents, Coun. Barb Lustgarten-Evoy agreed that reviewing the bylaws “is not quite enough anymore.”
“I've had people say ‘Can't we have OPP sitting there all day?' Well obviously we cannot,” said Lustgarten-Evoy, during the meeting. “(But) this is becoming a concern to many.”
Conducting inspections, responding to complaints, and issuing warnings and orders, municipal law enforcement officers only lay charges when other avenues have been exhausted or matters required an escalation in enforcement.
But Coun. Lisa MacDonald wanted to know if the additional duties would fall on the current bylaw officer or require additional hires.
“Talking to residents is the teeth of it,” said MacDonald. “I already know we don’t have enough OPP officers for these calls.”
The report noted that as the township's population increases, so will the need for additional municipal law enforcement officers.
“(The current bylaw officer) is wonderful but he is only one man and most of the noise disturbances are after business hours,” said O'Kane, during the meeting. “Our residents have to be patient with the paperwork that's involved with every complaint, including the investigations that he has to do.”
Bylaw complaints for the years 2020, 2021, and 2022 indicate a three-year average of 235 complaints filed.
Last year, Fergus led the way with 111 complaints; Eramosa had the lowest with three.
70 complaints were related to property standards. 43 were related to zoning.
Isabel Buckmaster is the Local Journalism Initiative reporter for GuelphToday. LJI is a federally-funded program.
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