THUNDER BAY – City council is looking to expand by-law enforcement capacity, in an effort to relieve Thunder Bay’s police service. Hiring additional by-law officers, and renegotiating overtime rules with the union representing those officers to allow for more evening enforcement, are two major strategies on the table.
At a meeting to review the 2020 municipal budget earlier this week, councillors said the steps are badly needed. They say calls about infractions that take place in the evening either go ignored, or use up valuable police resources.
Mayor Bill Mauro told council Police Chief Sylvie Hauth supports the moves, as police currently spend quite a bit of time responding to calls related to less serious by-law infractions.
“The vast majority of the calls are not criminal in nature,” Mauro says, “and they lead into a lot of this work that police officers are having to attend to.”
Currently, the city’s contract agreement with the union representing by-law officers requires overtime be paid for work beyond normal business hours. That’s a situation the city is trying to resolve through negotiations with the union. Mauro said the union is open to making the changes.
Coun. Aldo Ruberto put forward a motion that would add two additional by-law officers in 2020. Along with the purchase of an additional vehicle for the department, that would have added about $230,000 to next year’s budget (annual costs for the two officers are estimated at $180,000). Mauro pointed out the investment would also create revenue, through the collection of additional fines.
But without a firm agreement with the union to allow evening work at standard pay rates, most councillors were hesitant to go forward with Ruberto’s proposal. Instead, council opted to wait for a report back from city administration. That report, expected by early summer, is expected to contain the results of negotiations with the union, as well as more information on the need for additional by-law officers.
Coun. Mark Bentz said if that report demonstrated the need for more officers, and the overtime issue had been resolved, he would support drawing the money from the city's stabilization fund for 2020, and incorporating it into the budget after that. Several councillors expressed agreement with that approach.
