Residents of the Town of Oyen will soon be seeing a new bylaw officer in their community, the same new bylaw officer the Town of Hanna residents were recently introduced to. An agreement for bylaw services between Hanna and Oyen was approved by Hanna town council at their Sept. 9 regular meeting.

Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) Matthew Norburn presented councillors with a proposed bylaw enforcement services agreement between the Town of Hanna and Town of Oyen; Hanna councillors at their most recent information meeting were introduced to newly hired bylaw officer Skye Suntjen.

“The proposed agreement allows Hanna’s bylaw officer to provide an average of eight to 10 hours per week of bylaw enforcement services for the Town of Oyen,” stated Norburn’s report to council.

“The services will include patrolling, complaint investigations, enforcement of Oyen’s bylaws, issuing notices or tickets and related administrative tasks.

“This collaboration is intended to increase efficiency and provide cost savings for both municipalities, while ensuring consistent enforcement coverage.

“Oyen will pay Hanna an annual service fee of $24,845, invoiced quarterly. This represents approximately 25.7 per cent of the full cost of a bylaw officer, based on 468 service hours annually. Travel, equipment, and administrative overhead are included in this amount.”

Readers should note bylaw officers typically enforce rules such as animal control, noise control, parking restrictions and seasonal community standards such as unsightly premises, uncut grass and snow-covered sidewalks.

Some bylaw officers may also be empowered to enforce the provincial Traffic Safety Act (TSA) for infractions such as stop signs and seatbelts plus certain development rules related to land-use bylaws (LUBs). Demand for bylaw enforcement services appears to be growing, especially among smaller communities; a number of smaller communities covered by the Rural Alberta Report have recently hired or voiced interest in hiring such an officer.

During his presentation Norburn noted Hanna and Oyen had worked together on this proposal and last he heard the Town of Oyen council was also planning to approve this agreement at their next regular council meeting.

Councillors unanimously approved the bylaw enforcement services agreement between the Towns of Hanna and Oyen.