North Battleford's council meeting was held online via Zoom on Monday. (Angela Brown/battlefordsNOW staff)

By Angela Brown

In the chambers

City to clamp down on some parking offenders

Jun 23, 2020 | 5:20 PM

People who have long-outstanding parking tickets in North Battleford may want to settle their accounts or risk having their vehicle impounded down the road.

Council approved administration’s recommendation for the city to enter into a 12-month trial agreement with Battleford Investigations for parking ticket enforcement assistance, for the purpose of seizing vehicles, with an option to renew for another four years be included.

Mayor Ryan Bater said the city has a long-time problem of issuing parking tickets and not collecting the amount due.

“Council is making a conscious effort to start collecting,” he said. “If we issue a violation we should have every intention of collecting it. So this is just a measure we are taking to ensure that.”

The city will follow a series of actions to collect unpaid parking violation fines in the process before a vehicle will be impounded.

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“Once it is past the due dates, the summons date, the court date and they don’t show up, once it becomes that level, then that is when it would become collectible,” Bater said.

The mayor advised people to adhere to parking regulations if they want to avoid getting a parking ticket.

“Make sure your vehicle is registered and obey traffic laws first of all,” he said. “But when you are issued a ticket it is something that you do need to take seriously. If you wish to contest it there is that option, but to just ignore a ticket is unwise.”

Administration reported there is no cost to the city’s budget anticipated, as the vehicle owner will be charged the service fee as part of the seizure.

“By moving to seize vehicles more expeditiously, it will help the city’s cash flow in the short- and long-term,” city finance director Steve Brown stated in his report.

He said the city’s Community Safety Officer (CSO) supervisor would provide direction to the firm, Battleford Investigations, with regard to what vehicles may be subject to seizure. The company will be required to follow all city bylaws, policies and privacy rules.

In 2020 the city entered into a contract with Lash-Berg Towing for a revenue- sharing partnership related to towing and impound business generated from city-funded operations. One of the plans highlighted at that time was to obtain an outside enforcement service to locate and tow vehicles for outstanding parking tickets.

Administration had proposed the city enter into a partnership with Battleford Investigations, an affiliate company of Lash-Berg Towing for the purpose of locating and seizing vehicles for unpaid tickets.

The cost of the service will be $150 per vehicle found and towed, which is charged back to the vehicle owners when they come to pay the outstanding parking tickets. A similar bailiff service was used to serve court documents in 2019 and the cost was $200, according to the finance director’s report.

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angela.brown@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @battlefordsNOW