Photo: The Town of Hanna approved a bylaw enforcement services contract with the nearby Village of Delia at their Mar. 10 regular council meeting. At left is Coun. Paul Hunter, at right Bylaw Officer Skye Suntjens. Screenshot

Another central Alberta community appears to have addressed its need for bylaw enforcement services after the Town of Hanna agreed to provide “on-call” services to the nearby Village of Delia. The decision was made at the Mar. 10 regular meeting of council.

Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) Matthew Norburn presented councillors with a proposed bylaw enforcement services contract with Delia. Norburn noted in his report that the Village of Delia, located about 34 km west of Hanna, had voiced interest in such services. “Administration has been approached by the Village of Delia regarding the potential use of the Town of Hanna’s bylaw enforcement officer on an as-needed basis,” stated the memo to council.

A number of smaller rural communities covered by the Rural Alberta Report have in the past voiced interest in finding bylaw enforcement services, but such services can apparently be difficult to find.

Norburn noted contracting out to other towns was always part of the plan. “When we first went to a full-time bylaw officer... one of the things we discussed is that we would use our bylaw officer to provide services to other communities to offset some of the costs,” said Norburn during his verbal presentation.

He noted Hanna’s previous bylaw enforcement was done part-time on a contract basis.

The CAO observed Hanna's bylaw enforcement officer, Skye Suntjens, already works one day a week in the Town of Oyen, about 100 km east of Hanna; the Town of Hanna also has an existing “on-call” agreement with the Village of Youngstown, also located east of Hanna.

Norburn noted an “on-call” agreement means Suntjens investigates when a complaint is made, and so far the agreement hasn’t been a major workload problem for the bylaw officer. “We’ve had that agreement for what, maybe four, five, six months now,” said Norburn. “And she hasn’t been called out there once.”

Suntjens confirmed she has responded to no bylaw complaints from Youngstown.

The CAO also pointed out the Town of Hanna is still the bylaw officer’s primary coverage area. “It’s understood in the agreement that her priority is here,” said Norburn. “If she’s unavailable to go there, she’s unavailable to go there.”

It was noted during discussion that when Hanna bylaw changes are made that affect enforcement, they will be provided to the other communities for their consideration.

Councillors asked how Delia will pay Hanna for bylaw enforcement services. The CAO responded Hanna will invoice Delia at the same rate Oyen and Youngstown pay, which is $47 per hour, including travel and other costs. It was noted any bylaw enforcement response made by the Town of Hanna has a minimum two-hour charge.

Councillors passed a resolution unanimously approving the on-call bylaw enforcement services agreement between the Town of Hanna and the Village of Delia and authorized the CAO to execute the agreement.