The following was posted has a comment on my recent post http://crowsnestpasshome.blogspot.ca/2012/05/tax-notices-are-in-25-fact-or-fiction.html
It originated on the Municipal Web site under minutes the commenter copied and pasted it to my blog.
I am reposting this to high light the issue. People need to read the minutes below and think about where we has a municipality are really going with this.
"The Protective & Community Services Summary Worksheet for Enforcement- Peace Officer was
presented.
• Automated Traffic Enforcement (ATE) was researched by Donna Tona, Interim Manager
of Protective Services. The Solicitor General requires a population of 5,000 to begin the
process of obtaining ATE. The Crowsnest Pass does require a policing agreement with
the RCMP as per the Crowsnest Pass Regulation.
• In order to provide proper chain of command within an enforcement unit, one of the
peace officers will be required to have a Sergeant’s Rank which will require a salary
adjustment.
• Peace Officers require updated training including a 40 hour Emergency Vehicle
Operations Course, Animal handling, and Use of Force.
• Formal documents are being prepared for the order of two Peace Officer units and their
equipment. Each vehicle will be equipped with Camera systems, radar, laser, onboard
computers, work consoles, prisoner transport system, rubber flooring system, OnStar,
lighting and siren system, vehicles are equipped for off road and factory tailored for
towing, and one unit will be equipped with a winch system, bumper guards with LED
lighting, shotgun system for wildlife only and a digital evidence work station. Cost of
each vehicle with the associated equipment is approximately $70,000.00."
My comments:
First of all lets go back to what the municipality is trying to achieve here, I have heard lots of fanfare about cleaning up the community and straightening out the yahoo's driving up and down main street with loud mufflers disturbing the law abiding citizens.
There is no question that there are people around here that need to clean up their properties. With a crack down on the worst offenders and some hefty tickets the problems above will get resolved. So there will be justification for a bylaw/peace officer until those issues are resolved.
In the long term what are two Community Peace Officers going to do? they are going to become a cash cow. They are going to tap into the 12000 vehicles a day on highway 3 plus with the
Automated Traffic Enforcement (ATE) that will be set up in high volume areas they will attempt to bring in a lot of money.
A lot of money well think about it they will have to, we see above $140,000 just to set up the first two vehicle's let's give them a life of five years that's $30,000 a year for capital costs.
Now operational costs two community peace officers one of which we now find out will be a Sergeant your looking at 2080 hour a year each. One Officer in the range of $35 per hour and the other around $45 per hour that's $166,400 a year plus a 10% allowance for overtime and 25% for benefits. That number now becomes $228,800, then you are probably going to need another $40,000 a year to pay for all the other stuff required to operate this department (computers, cell phones, fuel, Insurance, uniforms, training, certifications, etc) .
Then it will only be a matter of time if you are writing a ton of tickets before you have to make the decision, do you want your officers sitting in the office doing paperwork or out on the road generating cash. So knowing the way government works after the first year they will be asking for "part time clerical support" which in year two will turn into the support staff is so over whelmed that we need to make this into a full time position. (Another $60,000 per year)
It wouldn't be long before between Capital costs, Officer costs, Clerical support, Other costs that this department will cost us the taxpayers a minimum of $360,000 per year. We have not even began to talk about court appearances, legal costs etc, because yes some people will fight these tickets.
At an average of $100 per ticket that is 3600 tickets a year divided by 200 days per year that means our officers will have to write 18 tickets per day.
Lots of questions with a program like this. Is that potential here for that volume of tickets? Is it sustainable in the long term? How long before it becomes common knowledge that the Crowsnest Pass is a speed trap? How long before all the locals figure out where the enforcement is? Not trying to justify breaking the law but how many tourists will say to hell with the Pass when they receive their photo and bill in the mail?
Mayor Decoux made a speech in council chambers last year about how famous the Crowsnest Pass has become thanks to Thunder in the Valley. Do we now wish it to become famous for being a speed trap?
28 comments:
Dean,
We have a heavy truck bylaw in place in Crowsnest Pass, but heavy trucks continue to be parked in residential areas. We have a ATV bylaw, too, but ATVs are continuing to be operated in town. When will some of these bylaws be enforced?
the next council will have to get rid of the peace officers
We have a Bylaw Officer now, if the bylaws are "not" being enforced do you think adding one more peace officer will change that?
We also must recognize the logistics of our municipality. We are five communities all of which are surrounded by forest areas. We have somewhere around 150km of roads, alleys etc.
There are 168 hours in a week even if you had two officers on separate shift schedules you would still have 88 hours a week with no coverage.
Then the eighty hours a week they are working they are going to be focussed on generating revenue. So where do you think they will be on Dairy Road chasing a Quad or Highway 3?
Dean,
You're right. The Pass is spread out over a relatively large area. However, it seems to me it would be pretty easy to find heavy trucks parked in town. They are quite large and to the trained eye, easy to spot. Regarding quads cruising up and down Dairy Road or any other popular route to the backcountry, it's not hard to catch up to them, either. You can hear them coming, blocks away.
I suspect all heavy truck and quad owners in CNP know that if they park or drive in town after 5:00 pm or on a weekend, they're safe. As long as you're out of sight by 7:00 am, nobody will know you were there. Only in Crowsnest Pass!
Anonymous at 11:24,
Your comment suggests the next council will be made up of different people. Even if they are different councilors next time, maybe they will want to keep the peace officers around. I guess you can always ask the candidates at the next forum and base your vote on how they reply to this question.
Anyone who has ever driven through Longview on their way to Calgary knows well enough to slow down when passing through their town. Often, there are speed traps set up right along the main highway. Yet, there are as many people who travel through Longview, as ever. I doubt it would be any different here. If you're speeding and get caught, you deserve a ticket. If you drive the speed limit, there's nothing to worry about. I don't know how many times I've been passed in the 80 km zone between Frank and Coleman, like I was standing still. These guys deserve a ticket!
1:30
The logistics are an argument which I would use with the quads not the trucks.
But if you go back to the first part of my comment.
Either bylaws will be enforced or they won't, if they are not going to be aggressively enforced you could have a hundred community peace officers.
The big problem is that the plan is that they MUST pay for themselves.So a few months after they start and everyone is on high alert or has their yard cleaned up it is going to get a whole lot harder to write enough tickets. Then because they MUST still write tickets to pay for themselves it will become a gong show of stupidity writing tickets for any little problem. One peace officer would be plenty, after a few months of writing tickets the general public will now be following the basic rules.And is this not the goal?
Dean,
Exactly! There has to be enforcement. We have had bylaws in place for a long time regarding a lot of these things, but there was never much in the way of enforcement. Now that it appears council is ready to implement change, there are a lot of nervous people in CNP. Some of the recent letters to the Editor in the local papers are a good indication of this. This change is long overdue. In the past, if you were well connected with certain individuals who were in charge around here, you could get away with a lot of things. This has been going on all the years I've lived here. It's time to end this.
3:00 pm,
You're right, at first there will likely be a lot of tickets issued. However, a ticket can only be issued to someone who is in violation of something. If you're not in violation of something, you won't be ticketed.
3:35
You are right so when people have been ticketed,yards are cleaned up and people slow down.
Who will pay for the Community Peace Officer Program
3:42,
Motorists speeding on Hwy. 3? But in the meantime, everyone will be cleaning up their yards, parking heavy trucks in appropriate places and towing their quads to the Forestry on trailers, so they won't be ticketed. Maybe there is hope for this community, after all.
The direction of where this is going was illustrated by Ms. Tona in front of the barber shop in Blairmore not too long ago. John's letter to the paper was pretty selfeplanatory. . If the coming council does not reverse this gong show, we will become the laughing stock of southern Alberta. So far, the only thing this council has not addressed adequatly is our declining economy. Writing tickets and making visitors feel unwecome is not the way to get more business.
Personally I don't think the economy is much different than it was 20 years ago really. What do you expect, a mini Calgary. I don't think that is why people have moved here, and are still moving here. Several sold signs out, so do not exaggerate. Some people really are just liking to stir the pot I guess.
Louisiana State Legislative Auditor found fifteen cities made more than half their budget from speeding tickets
For sure it's a cash grab,but the speeding in the Pass is unreal. Time for people to slow down. I am all for it!
The only thing stirring is the pot.
The issue here isn't one of nailing speeders or anybody else breaking the law.
It is, can an enforcement department be self sustaining in the long run.
You can see from above the initial start up costs are very high. Then the on going operational costs are also very expensive.
Now if the tax payers are willing to put out this kind of money on an ongoing basis for this service. So be it.
But if it is possible for enforcement to pay for itself why are we has taxpayers pouring billions into the RCMP ever year?
There will be initial success with enforcement until people learn to slow down on Highway 3. But the costs do not go away in six months.
I stopped and had lunch in Longview yesterday for a hour I watched drivers, they are programmed now they drive through Longview at the limit and step on the gas the minute they reach the other side of town.
What is going on is an expensive over-reaction to what was going on before. Those who want to solve all of our problems with good policy work and mountains of good regulations are leaving too much of their work to the enthusiastic consultants and the bureaucrats. Imagine the issue of the chain of command in a two person department - just hire one person and don't worry about what the consultant recommended.
Anon @12:54
Of course, no one in a position of authority will actually say this. In a world of consultants and technocratic calm, no one is ever publicly wrong, let alone held responsible for errors, even if they have/are damaged(ing) the lives of real people. After all, professionalism is all about smooth waters and the appearance of continuity.
JP
I agree with the last 2 posts. If you hire a consultant and then not listen to there recommendations then everyone will say what a waste of money hiring a consultant.So once you commit to hiring a consultant you better be prepared to do as your told.
Why this council can not think for themselves is beyond me.
I think we need to address the speed limits through the Pass.
100-80-100-60-80-50-60-100 kms/hr (from east to west)
Totally agree with addressing speed limits. The fluctuation is needless.
I think the speed limit in the Pass should be 60 km per hour from one end to the other. Start at the east Bellevue access and stay at 60 to Chinook Lake.
You may have missed a couple of school zones. Other than the 80 at the Bellevue/Hillcrest turnoff I do not see how you could get rid of the fluctuation.
the "school zones" are actually "school areas" with no change in speed limit required
Dean I hear they are moving the Enforcement Department to the MDM. Who will provide their clerical support up there?
If the municipality takes over the policing of Highway 3. Will that affect the size of our RCMP detachment? I would hate to see the Municipality hire it's own policing then the RCMP find that they have too many officers here.
Larry
Post a Comment