New parking ticket system could be ‘win-win’ in Richmond Hill

Residents could resolve disputes faster, town coffers would get a boost

Yorkregion.com
April 19, 2016
By Kim Zarzour

You may soon have a new, and quicker, way to deal with parking tickets in Richmond Hill.

Town council has approved a change that would avoid the use of busy provincial offences courts in the case of disputed fines, and may bring the municipality more than $500,000 in lost parking ticket revenue.

If given final approval by council Monday night, the new Administrative Monetary Penalty System will replace the system currently administered under the Provincial Offences Act.

Several municipalities, including Oshawa, Vaughan, Brampton, Burlington, Mississauga, Markham and Oakville, have already adopted the new system with “overall positive” results, according to a staff report discussed at a committee of the whole meeting Monday night.

“I only wish we had done this sooner because ... it is a win-win for both the court system in the province as well as municipalities,” said Councillor Godwin Chan.

Under the current system, eight full-time and four part-time parking control enforcement officers (along with York Regional Police officers and private agencies authorized by the town) have authority to issue parking tickets.

The town issues more than 31,000 parking tickets every year, but a significant amount of the fines is not collected, the report said.

Under the current system, the town recovered about 62 per cent of the face value of tickets in 2014 - $1,161,000 of a total worth $1,871,000.

Part of the problem is the existing process required to obtain a conviction for a parking ticket under the Provincial Offences Act is “cumbersome, expensive, time consuming and often leads to lengthy delays,” said Alek Antoniuk, supervisor with policy, legislative and regulatory services.

In 2014, 6,417 tickets were disputed (about 21 per cent of those issued).

Court time allocated to the town for parking infraction trials has been cut back and is expected to be reduced further in order to provide time for more serious crimes, the report said.

As a result, it’s common for tickets to be voided or written-off due to a court date not being scheduled within a reasonable timeframe. This withdrawal of charges caused a loss of $20,000 in revenue in 2014.

“The amount of uncollected fines for parking tickets has grown steadily since 1990,” Antoniuk said. “There were 37,866 outstanding parking tickets owing a total of $2,385,902 to the Town of Richmond Hill as of Dec. 31.”

When a parking ticket is disputed, the town is pressured to use a “facilitation process” (lowering fines with education about illegal parking, or in cases of financial hardship) in order to reduce the burden on the courts. But that has reduced revenue - $390,000 less in 2014, the report said.

The new Administrative Monetary Penalty system may resolve this, at the same time making it more “citizen-friendly”, Antoniuk said.

Under the new system, the town would issue a penalty notice on a vehicle that is in contravention of the parking bylaw.

The recipient could request a review of the ticket by a “screening officer” and if unsatisfied with the outcome, could request a review of the decision by a “hearing officer” - both of whom would be appointed by council.

Individuals may request an extension of time to pay their parking ticket from a screening officer or hearing officer.

The provincial offences court will no longer be available and the ruling by the hearing officer - a “legally trained, neutral decision-maker”, often a retired justice of the peace or lawyer - will be final.

Individuals can pay their tickets online via paytickets.ca, in person at town hall, or by mailing a cheque to the Town of Richmond Hill.

Communities that have launched this program report good results, the report said.

Hearings are scheduled within one to two months of the infraction date, compared to 8 to 12 months it takes to schedule a trial in court under the current system in Richmond Hill.

A report looking at Vaughan’s experience with the system found matters are heard more quickly, less time is wasted by the public waiting around the courthouse until the matter is heard, less money is spent paying enforcement officers overtime to attend court, and those who sought review seemed satisfied with the process.

The cost of hearing officers was deemed not significant, according to a report from the Law Commission of Ontario. As there is only one day of hearings per week, the annual cost of both hearing officers in Vaughan is approximately $13,000 - an expense that is recovered through revenue from administrative penalties.

The City of Brampton implemented the system and in a 12-month period, staff recovered more than 91 per cent of the face value of all tickets issued - compared to Richmond Hill’s recovery of 62 per cent, the report said.

A similar recovery rate in Richmond Hill would result in actual revenue increase of more than $500,000.

As well, the new system will reduce congestion in provincial courts and free up time for more serious matters, the report said.

“I am so pleased with this report,” said Regional Councillor Vito Spatafora, in moving the item be approved by council committee. “The actual cost of this system is a fraction of what can be gained.”

If approved at council Monday, staff will report back with a plan to implement the parking ticket changeover.