Puslinch offering reward for arrest of vandals
Council also voted to hire co-op student to help process backlog of tickets
ABERFOYLE – Puslinch Township is offering an $8,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of the person(s) responsible for cutting down cameras it uses to enforce a heavy vehicle bylaw.
The funds will be added to the $2,000 offer from CrimeStoppers, that would receive the tips and filter them to police.
Mayor James Seeley suggested adding to the reward at the Oct. 21 Puslinch council meeting.
“The funding would come from the revenue of the tickets,” Seeley said. “I feel a substantial reward could lead to an arrest.”
The township has designated routes for heavy trucks, but is finding trucks are not sticking to those routes, causing roads to deteriorate prematurely, with taxpayers bearing the cost.
The heavy truck bylaw allows the municipality to erect cameras on non-truck routes and photograph licence plates and vehicles for evidence in issuing tickets.
In August and September, two camera poles were cut down. Seeley said it will cost $80,000 to replace them.
And until township officials find a solution to the ongoing vandalism, the cameras are not on and the bylaw is not being enforced.
Seeley very keenly wants the program up and running and for big trucks to stick to designated routes. He also wants to find the perpetrator(s) of these crimes.
“If somebody did this and is telling tales out of school, we’ll pay $10,000 (including the CrimeStoppers’ funds) for someone to tell on you,” Seeley said.
Council agreed to the reward, but later in the meeting there was dissension in the ranks as staff made a pre-budget request to hire a co-op student to assist with processing heavy vehicle bylaw tickets.
The township has held just two “blitzes” and issued hundreds of tickets, making it difficult to process them in a timely fashion, said bylaw enforcement supervisor Jacob Normore.
The co-op student would validate the tickets against the photos taken by the cameras and print and email the tickets.
Because the township is now using administrative monetary penalties (AMPS), those who receive tickets have the right to a hearing, which requires staff time to schedule and attend.
Puslinch has just two bylaw officers, so with the current backlog, enforcement is not currently occurring.
CAO Courtenay Hoytfox said the township can’t do another blitz until the backlog is cleared.
“We’ve had to temper issuing tickets,” she said.
Councillors Sara Bailey and Jessica Goyda resisted hiring another staff person without having any data in front of them.
Bailey said the program has just started “and I don’t have an idea of how it’s working. I want to see the need on paper” in a report.
“I would really like to understand the cost and what the anticipated revenue will be,” Goyda agreed. “I would like to see bigger-picture information before I say go ahead.”
Seeley was adamant hiring a student would help the success of the program.
“The vandalism has chewed through our revenue,” he said, “and two blitzes have backlogged us. We will be in a bad pickle if we delay this. We need the tickets to fund the vandalism and the program.”
“And the road deteriorates at a rapid rate,” added councillor John Sepulis. “A 20-year road becomes a 10-year road… This is saving tax dollars.”
Bailey hoped to see a phasing in of the program and perhaps of the staff position in question.
“Surely this program doesn’t hinge on a co-op student,” she said.
“I think success does hinge on this position,” Seeley countered. “It takes more than five tickets to change behaviour. Drive down Concession 7 and see what’s happening to that road.”
Bailey and Goyda put forward a motion to defer the decision until staff could provide a full report.
It was at this moment that councillor Russel Hurst arrived. In the absence of information about the discussion he voted to abstain, which counts as a ‘no’ vote. So the vote to defer failed.
If Hurst abstained on the original motion and Goyda and Bailey voted against it, that would fail as well, “and then it falls on the floor,” Goyda said as she reluctantly voted in favour of hiring the student.
So the motion passed and staff will hire a co-op student who should begin the role in January.
Goyda did ask staff to provide more details about the role and the program, including the anticipated number of tickets and anticipated revenue.
Staff will bring that report to the next council meeting.
