By-Law Department Calls for Service Doubled in 2020 and 2021

October 15, 2021 – Our services continue to be impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic and enforcement-related requests are being prioritized to ensure our officers are responding as quickly as possible to support the public health emergency.

Enforcement calls for service have increased from just under 200 in 2018 as well as 2019 to over 400 in 2020. So far in 2021the calls for service are also trending to be over 400, in effect doubling the number of calls for service with consistent levels of staffing. Impacting the increase includes assisting with Provincial mandated COVID-19 inspections and education for the community in the last nineteen months.

The Town’s municipal by-law enforcement staff strive to make our community safe for everyone. Due to an increase in by-law complaints and ongoing staffing constraints in part due the pandemic, we ask residents to please be patient as the department addresses requests and follows up on a priority level basis.

We encourage residents to have civil conversations with neighbours when possible, to solve smaller issues, prior to making official by-law complaints. Staff also request that residents refer to the By-law Enforcement page of the Town’s website where you can find a copy of the policy and procedure to better understand the complaint process and local by-laws of the specific issue at hand.

We appreciate the continued patience while our staff work to complete all requests. While we might not be meeting our service level standards at the moment, all complaints will be acknowledged when they are received and handled on a priority level basis.

Andrea Betty
Director of Planning and Community Development
705-549-7453
abetty@penetanguishene.ca

For media inquiries, please contact:
Sarah Marshall 
Communications and Technology Coordinator 
Town of Penetanguishene
smarshall@penetanguishene.ca