Scofflaws. Is that what weve become, Vancouver?
According to a city staff report that goes before council Tuesday, the city processes some 450,000 bylaw infractions every year.
Thats one crazy number.
Turns out, 98 per cent of the infractions are for parking violations.
The good news for the city is that more than 75 per cent of those scofflaws voluntarily pay their tickets.
The bad news for the city is the remaining 25 per centsome 100,000 tickets annuallyare either ignored or disputed. Trying to collect on these apparently requires a provincial court order and a wait of more than two years.
So what to do?
Vancouver examined what some 40 other municipalities in B.C. were doing about this problem and implemented a system where unpaid parking tickets can be dealt with by a provincially appointed adjudicator by phone, email, in person, or through an agent. Launched in February 2011, the new system has seen more than 280,000 tickets processed and more than 800 adjudication hearings.
Apparently, the voluntary payment rate has increased from 75 to 80 per cent.
The new bylaw adjudication system reduces the need for lengthy court proceedings, is more convenient for citizens and frees up court time for more complex cases, the city staff report said.
The best news of all?
Yep, more cash for the city. The increased payment and rate represented about $1.9 million in 2011. So keep on violating, Vancouveryour city needs the money.
Blue in the black
Speaking of money
The Vancouver Police Department finally answered a question Ive been asking since Police Chief Jim Chu sounded the alarm last October that the department might go over budget.
Chu cited the sudden increase in policing costs related to the Occupy Vancouver protest in the fall outside the Vancouver Art Gallery as the reason.
Five months later, with protesters long gone, Deputy Chief Adam Palmer told the Vancouver Police Board Feb. 22 the department had successfully balanced its operating budget for the seventh consecutive year.
Didnt get a chance to ask how it was done, or how the VPD ended up with a surplus of $163,000. And, how exactly did they do that with the costs of the Stanley Cup riot investigation?
All city departments, including the VPD, were told by the city manager there would be no new money for budgets in 2012. With the overall crime rate down in Vancouver, some pundits have wondered why the city needs more money for police, anyway.
But Police Chief Jim Chu told me last week the VPD could always use more officers for a variety of reasons, including cutting response times to emergencies and more presence on the streets. And, as Chu has pointed out many times, even though the crime rate is falling, property crime, for example, is still more prevalent in Vancouver than in other cities.
How much does the public care about this?
A city survey on this years budget noted crime and personal safety, once a leading concern has been mentioned less in the current wave of research than ever before. Perhaps the citys efforts to fund increased policing staffing and presence is having an impact on public perceptions.
Twitter: @Howellings
