Most bylaw cases involved dogs last year in M.L.

Last year most of the bylaw cases in Meadow Lake involved dogs according to the latest report submitted to council.

According to the submitted report, 2016 saw bylaw enforcement officer Joe Hallahan work on a total of 398 cases. One hundred and eighteen of those involved dogs while the remaining 280 were other city bylaws.

Included in the report, 85 cases fell under the nuisance abatement umbrella which typically deals with unsightly properties, usually garbage and junk items littering front yards.

The second highest number of violations fell under waste collection with just over 70 incidents. Waste collection bylaws usually cover either overflowing bins or if they’re left out on the street.

The third highest infraction numbers fell under traffic. Hallahan dealt with over 50 cases ranging from illegal parking, exceeding time-limits and not complying with parking schedules.

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The above statistics are reflective of both written warnings and ticketed infractions.

Regarding dog cases the most infractions went to owners with dogs at-large. The second and third most popular violations were for dogs excessively barking and those without a dog licence.

While Hallahan does write tickets, most of the interactions with the public start with a warning, either written or verbal.

A warning is issued to educate the public and permit voluntary compliance.

In total, Hallahan issued 93 written warnings in 2016. Thirty of those warnings came in January, a ‘grace period’ for tickets.

“Giving written warnings to people about getting their dogs licensed or getting a current business license has been effective in getting people to comply with the bylaws and informing them of the consequences of choosing not to comply with the bylaws in the City of Meadow lake,” the report said.

The most common ticket Hallahan wrote was for parking in a no parking zone. Following that were tickets for keeping an unattached trailer on the street, parking in a handicap stall and parking opposed traffic.

Most of the tickets were issued in October, June, March or January.

September, November and December saw the lowest number of violation tickets issued which can be due to Hallahan being away for training or holidays.

This year there are hopes of the city acquiring a second bylaw officer.

Colton Swiderski is a news and sports reporter for meadowlakeNOW. He can be reached at cswiderski@jpbg.ca or tweet him @coltonswiderski.