SUNDRE – The addition of a bylaw officer to support the municipality’s community peace officer “has significantly enhanced the department’s capacity.”
Linda Nelson, chief administrative officer, presented to council during the regular Jan. 20 meeting a year-end departmental report.
Nelson described 2024 as a “transformative year” and said the addition of a then part-time bylaw officer proved to be a key milestone.
“This staffing increase has significantly enhanced the department’s capacity, resulting in a 99 per cent rise in response in calls for services compared to 2023 demonstrating an improved level of service for the community,” she said.
In 2023, there were 1,009 while 2,006 were recorded in 2024.
Late last year, council approved increasing the bylaw officer’s position to full-time hours.
Each complaint is handled based on the circumstances surrounding the events and the individual involved with outcomes ranging from education or warnings to enforcement or no action being taken at all, said Nelson.
Differentiating each title’s respective role, she said peace officers are appointed by the Alberta Justice and Solicitor General and operate under the Alberta Peace Officers Act while bylaw officers are appointed by the municipality and are responsible for the enforcement of municipal bylaws.
The CPO’s enforcement portfolio includes but is not limited to: Animal Protection Act, Dangerous Dogs Act, Gaming Liquor and Cannabis Act, Traffic Safety Act, and Trespass to Premises Act.
Municipal bylaws that both officers can enforce include: cat and dog, community standards, land use, noise, snow removal, traffic and unsightly premises.
Both Sundre’s CPO and bylaw officer – Sam Zhao and Rob Plews respectively – are also members of the Sundre Fire Department, and Nelson said the municipal enforcement department was relocated from the town’s operations shop to the fire hall, which is a more suitable facility.
“This move leverages the dual role of officers as members of the Sundre Fire Department, fostering operational efficiency,” she added.
Among the many files logged in 2024 were 425 provincial violations, which included 375 tickets and warnings issued under the Traffic Safety Act and 40 under the Trespass to Premises Act.
Tickets and warnings issued under bylaw violations included: cat bylaw, 35; dog bylaw, 80; land use bylaw, 12; noise bylaw, 10; snow removal bylaw, five; traffic bylaw, 95; and unsightly premise, 15.
“There were a total of 706 tickets and warnings, which is a 117 per cent increase in traffic enforcement hours compared to 2023,” said Nelson.
Additionally, the department reported having conducted 46 school zone patrols.
There were also 15 encampments reportedly found.
Following the presentation, Coun. Jaime Marr said, “I feel like this department is the only one that gets tons of accolades” on social media.
The councillor added she had seen comments posted by people expressing approval of a ghost car.
“We do appreciate it as parents seeing you guys in the school zones,” said Marr.
Mayor Richard Warnock echoed a similar sentiment, although the feedback he said he had received was through in-person conversations with residents.
“It’s one of the things I get complimented on,” said Warnock. “I do get the public telling me about how nice it is to see that (enforcement) exposure on our streets.”
Following up on the statistic about the encampments, Marr asked if the 15 reported instances were unique or possibly situations involving recurring encampments.
“I’m just curious to know, how is our homeless number – is it increasing?” she asked.
Zhao said that with respect to encampments, the department will generally respond after receiving a phone call from someone who for example reported seeing a person living under the Red Deer River Bridge or who found a tent in the woods in town.
“They’re separate incidents. So, they’re 15 separate encampments that we found in 2024,” he said.
As to what direction the trend might be headed, the peace officer could not say.
“This was something new that we started tracking in 2024, so I don’t have anything to compare that to.”
Council accepted the report for information and thanked the officers for their work.
