Increased enforcement, fines, ticketing part of new bylaw system

Cambridge will overhaul the way it issues and administers parking tickets and other bylaw infractions to make the process more efficient and help remove the backlog of disputes entering the Provincial Offences Court.

On Tuesday, council approved an improved Administrative Penalty System (APS) for parking and non-parking by-law offences "to enhance the customer service experience, and make it easier, faster, and more accessible for residents to resolve tickets."

The new system replaces the current process which follows regulations set out in the Provincial Offences Act (POA).

It will take effect October 11 to allow staff time to update internal processes.

Staff are of the opinion that there are several key benefits of this transition, with the key focus on making the legal process more efficient, user friendly, and less intimidating.

"Further, there will be a positive impact on the regional court system in terms of making court resources available for more serious matters."

They say an APS will provide for a similarly open, transparent, and impartial process as is currently in place with the POA system, "maintaining the fundamental principles of open court and due process."

Under an APS, officers are able to serve tickets in a variety of methods that were not available under the POA.

There are also improvements the way the ticket is adjudicated after being issued. Under an APS program tickets can be served by mail to a person’s last known address, which addresses some of the limitations of the POA system when issuing a ticket to a scofflaw or out-of-area person.

There will soon be two steps in the resolution process when someone chooses to dispute a parking or nonparking by-law ticket.

In the new system, ticket holders can request a screening, replacing the first attendance option in the POA system that requires a disputing ticket holder to either request a first attendance meeting for parking matters or mail/attend the provincial courts in Kitchener for non-parking matters.

The APS process provides staff with an increased level of discretion to resolve the ticket through a screening. If the ticket holder chooses not to accept the resolution offered by staff, they can request a hearing before a hearings officer. This will replace the trial/court option currently in use under the POA system.

Based on current projections, staff estimate compensating independent hearing officers will result in additional costs in the range of $4,000 to $7,000, which can be accommodated within the current approved 2023 operating budget.

Staff say transitioning to an APS will have a positive impact on the receipt of payment of tickets and improve the city’s ability to collect on unpaid fines.

Late fees and collection fees can also be added to the total fine amount. Those fees will increase to better recover costs.

A $20 parking ticket, for example, could end up costing significantly more for people who ignore the initial fine.

Under the current system, a $16 conviction fee and $20 Ministry of Transportation surcharge is applied for non payment, making the total penalty $56.

Under the new system, those fees ramp up considerably, adding a $12 MTO search fee, a $25 late payment fee, a $20 MTO plate denial fee and the $20 MTO surcharge for a total of $97.

Staff predicts "a modest increase in the total number of tickets issued and to ticket revenue as a result of the implementation of the APS program."

Staff is proposing a $10-$20 increase in parking fines to bring the City of Cambridge in line with surrounding municipalities and to promote compliance with the city's by-law. Safety related parking offences would see fines raised even higher.

Fines for second and subsequent violations of non-parking bylaws like property standards are also soon to come forward with fines progressing from $100 for a second violation and $200 for any subsequent offence. Bylaw would still retain the right to summon offenders to court to seek even higher fines.

The city has also adopted a new bylaw compliance strategy with plans for better outreach, education and use of technology to improve services.