ALBERTON, P.E.I. — The mayor of Alberton has reached out to his counterparts in Tignish, Tyne Valley and O’Leary to pitch the idea of sharing a bylaw enforcement officer on an as-needed basis.
Mayor David Gordon said he will be arranging for a perspective bylaw enforcement officer to meet in Alberton with representatives of the councils and discuss a shared service.
“This guy is not going to be full-time,” Gordon said, suggesting the councils could compile a list of bylaw issues that need addressing and the officer could deal with several of them in one visit. The councils being serviced would share the costs.
Questioned on Alberton’s proposal following the November monthly meeting of O’Leary Town council, Mayor Eric Gavin said he’s quite interested in attending the information-sharing meeting. “We’re just going to sit down and discuss it first and we’ll go from that,” said the mayor, adding his town has not seen much need for such services.
“If it is just going to be a bylaw officer for barking dogs, probably not. But, if it is going to be a bylaw officer for something serious, well."
Tyne Valley Mayor Jeff Noye said his council will pass on the invitation.
“We discussed that at our last meeting and, at this point, we don’t have any need for it. We wouldn’t be interested at this point in time.”
Tignish Mayor Allan McInnis said he is “totally interested” in what Gordon is proposing. But he said that until Tignish has its official plan and bylaws updated, he doesn’t think the town would be in a position to use the services of an enforcement officer. He hopes to have that process completed by spring.
McInnis said the town is turning responsibility for bylaws around building permits over to the provincial government to handle.
“Municipal affairs has a new formula for the towns, so rather than trying to beat our heads against the wall, I think we should go along with it and maybe there are some curves in the road that we can straighten out by having discussions with the provincial government.”
McInnis said he thinks provincial responsibility for bylaw enforcement would be the best way to go, but he feels the municipalities should also investigate Gordon’s pitch.
Gordon acknowledged Alberton has faced challenges around enforcement of building permits, and he thinks a bylaw enforcement officer could tackle that issue once the town does a thorough review of its bylaws. He agreed there are new provincial regulations coming in, but said the town will still have to look after the enforcement.
The town has also been trying to enforce a wintertime ban on overnight parking along Main Street. Gordon said notices were recently posted about that ban and said he hopes vehicle owners will comply this year. If they don’t, he suggested that’s also a matter that could be turned over to an enforcement officer.
Gordon is hoping he can get the meeting scheduled for this month.
