The complaint: A dog owner, Ash, complained to our office that the Fraser Valley Regional District mailed him two bylaw tickets for failing to license his dogs. While Ash paid both fines, he felt it was unfair – he never received a reminder notice regarding the tickets.
Ash adopted the dogs in 2021. He contacted animal control at the regional district to report his new dogs. But animal control’s attempts to follow up by email and phone were not successful.
Six months later, Ash received the tickets with no notice or warning. He tried to dispute the tickets but was unsuccessful. The outstanding amount was sent to a collection agency.
What we did: It is best practice for local governments to tell residents about possible enforcement action. This gives residents a chance to follow the bylaw or to ask questions. It also provides residents with the opportunity to tell their side of the story.
The district requires residents to renew their dog licences each year. The district mails invoices to dog owners with existing accounts in November. It also advertises to remind dog owners that licence fees are due by year-end. Early the following year, the district mails reminder notices for unpaid accounts. Staff usually follow up by phone to let dog owners know they will receive a ticket if they don’t pay on time. Staff make thousands of these calls each year.
Ash’s account was in good standing with the district; he had followed dog licensing requirements for many years. If Ash had received a licence reminder in 2021, he would have paid the fee.
We asked the district why it didn’t mail a reminder notice to Ash instead of issuing him tickets.
How we helped: The regional district’s licensing process was solid, but Ash’s situation showed that it could be better. The district agreed to update its process so all dog owners would be mailed an additional reminder invoice before a ticket is issued.
In Ash’s case, the district applied a credit to his account for the amount of the second ticket as it recognized its error for failing to send Ash a reminder notice. It will also notify him when the credit has been used on his account and there is a balance due.
Why it matters: For a process to be fair, relevant information must be communicated in a timely manner. Adequate communication could have prevented the unfairness that Ash experienced.
