BARRIE, ONT. -- On Monday night, Barrie councillors are expected to sign off on something the city hasn't done in 17 years: hiring new bylaw officers.
The proposal is to take on four new officers over the next two years.
Tammy Banting, the city's manager of enforcement services, says it's time.
"We are at a breaking point where calls and complaints are increasing, and our response times are actually decreasing," Banting says.
Barrie's population boom and changing geography are behind a 54 percent increase in bylaw calls.
The COVID-19 pandemic has also driven up requests for help.
The city received over 11,000 complaints over four months for things like big social gatherings and businsesses operating outside pandemic restrictions. Barrie typically logs 70,000 calls a year.
The city is taking a phased-in approach to hiring to spread out the cost of the new officers. The first officer will come onboard early in the new year—the final officer, sometime in 2022.
Considering salary, benefits, training and other expenses, each bylaw officer will cost the city about $98,000 a year.
