Chatham-Kent is hoping that adding another by-law enforcement officer will help crack down on repeat offenders.
In a motion being presented to council at Monday’s meeting, Director of Legal Services, David Taylor, will ask council to vote on bringing the idea of hiring an additional dedicated by-law enforcement officer to the 2026 budget update process.
Taylor’s report suggests neighbourhood complaints about issues such as tall grass, garbage, abandoned vehicles, and property standards are stretching resources and that current enforcement tools are not strong or fast enough to keep up with individuals who repeatedly ignore by-laws.
Hiring a new by-law enforcement officer would cost approximately $125,000 with a one-time vehicle cost of $53,000. In his report, Taylor wrote that the increase in revenues from the administrative fee could offset some of the added costs.
Other ways Taylor said Chatham-Kent could deal with by-law breaches could include: escalating fines, adding set fines to the long grass and weed by-law, and eventually considering an Administrative Monetary Penalty system (AMPS), though administration cautions this is a system that could be costly to set up.
The report also stressed the need to balance tougher enforcement with fairness, noting that penalties can unfairly impact lower-income residents.