Whereas the City of Markham maintains teams of Provincial Offences Officers to enforce City Bylaws;
Whereas a new City Manager of Bylaw and Regulatory Services will join the City on November 15, 2021;
Whereas other departments, including Animal Care and Tree Protection also employ Provincial Offences Officers;
Whereas bylaw enforcement is one of the most high-profile services maintained by the City;
Whereas bylaws are typically enforced on a complaints-only re-active basis, rather than pro-actively, such that enforcement is uneven across the City;
Where property standards and sign bylaws in the Heritage Conservation Districts are honoured more in the breach than in the observance;
Whereas observance of property standards bylaws across the city is perceived by many residents to have been declining for many years.
Whereas there were hundreds of open bylaw enforcement cases prior to the pandemic;
Whereas the pandemic has almost certainly served only to increase the backlog of open cases;
Whereas bylaw enforcement service is limited on weekends and evenings, even as those breaking bylaws do not necessarily keep business hours;
Whereas the bylaw enforcement team does not have a centralized dispatch system;
Therefore, be it resolved, that Council directs City staff to commission an independent third-party report and recommendations for improved bylaw enforcement services, addressing but not limited to the following topics:
• Best practices among other bylaw enforcement operations in Ontario and elsewhere,
• Optimal organisational structure,
• Per capita staffing levels,
• Case backlogs,
• Weekly hours of service,
• Dispatch systems,
• Proactive vs reactive enforcement,
• The roles of other City and Regional field staff in identifying and reporting bylaw offences,
• Options for the employment of private security contractors,
• Implications for union contracts and relations,
• Costs for various increased service levels;
And that the final report be presented to council no later than April 30, 2022; and,
That staff including the new Manager By-Law and Regulatory Services, and the Assistant Manager, Parking Administration and the By-Law Services Supervisor, be asked to review and evaluate the above areas and provide input regarding any additional external consultant review; and further,
That staff determine the opportunity to apply to the Province’s Audit and Accountability Fund, Intake 3, to assist in the evaluation of these areas and that staff report back to Development Services Committee on this matter.