Some North Battleford drivers face possible impoundment over chronic unpaid tickets

“If we do find somebody that is like that, we could technically impound their vehicle, but we’d like to try and pay their fines prior to that happening,” he said.

The enforcement campaign has already recovered roughly $13,000 in overdue municipal tickets in recent weeks, according to finance director Margarita Pena.

“Some residents have paid over 10 tickets at the same time,” she said. “It is a work in progress.”

The city’s previous quarterly financial report showed outstanding municipal ticket fines had reached $451,320 as of Dec. 31, 2025.

City manager Randy Patrick said the enforcement effort is focused on chronic offenders, not residents with a small number of recent tickets.

“These are the ones that [have] 10 tickets or five tickets or 20 tickets, potentially,” he said.

Patrick added some residents have been escorted directly to city hall to settle their outstanding balances before enforcement escalates further.

The ticket crackdown emerged during council’s review of the city’s 2026 first-quarter financial report, which also pointed to broader payment pressures across the community.

A chart included in the new report showed 92 utility disconnections in January 2026, compared to 40 during the same month last year.

The report also showed hundreds of thousands of dollars in overdue accounts receivable through the first quarter.

Despite those concerns, Pena said most city finances are generally “tracking to budget” aside from seasonal timing differences and billing changes tied to the city’s switch from quarterly to monthly utility billing.

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Kenneth.Cheung@pattisonmedia.com

by Kenneth Cheung

Some North Battleford drivers face possible impoundment over chronic unpaid tickets

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