1.1 The Clerk prepare the necessary by-law to authorize the Lord Mayor and Clerk to execute the agreement attached to report CS-13- with the Niagara Region to add defaulted Provincial Offences Act (POA) fines to the Town's tax rolls.
2. PURPOSE / PROPOSAL At a recent Area Treasurers meeting, Niagara Region presented a request to add defaulted POA fines to tax rolls. The Niagara Region would now like to solidify this arrangement with an agreement. 3. BACKGROUND In January 2001, the Province of Ontario, as part of its strategy to realign provincial and municipal roles in the delivery of public services, transferred the responsibility for the administration and prosecution of Provincial Offences to the Niagara Region. The Niagara Region, acting as agent on behalf of the twelve area municipalities, has established its own administration and courtrooms to deal with charges laid under the Provincial Offences Act (POA). Net revenues generated from the collections of POA fines are shared 50/50 between the Region and area municipalities. Assessment is used to further allocate funds to the lower tier. The Town receives approximately $70,000 annually from POA fines and the funds are allocated to general revenues. 4. DISCUSSION / ANALYSIS The POA Collections Department uses many methods to enforce the payment of outstanding fines. Suspending driver's licences, sending collection notices, pursuing civil enforcement, and the use of collection agencies, yet despite these collections efforts the number of delinquent fines continues to grow. The Region has recently approached Area Treasurers in an effort to utilize another collections tool; adding POA fines to the Town's tax roll. Section 441.1 of the Municipal Act, 2001 grants treasurers the authority to add defaulted POA fines to the tax roll for any property where the owners of the property are responsible for paying the fine and then collect the fine in the same manner as municipal taxes. If the property is owned jointly, the fine can not be added. The Ontario Municipal Tax and Revenue Association (OMTRA) is lobbying for expanded power to add fines to jointly owned property. Staff will provide an update to Council if this option becomes available. Once all collections efforts have been exhausted, the POA Collections Department will provide the necessary documentation to add the fine to the owner's property tax roll. The funds will be forwarded to the POA Collections Department once collected. This method of collecting delinquent fines has been adopted by several municipalities across Ontario. Attached to this report is the agreement which must be signed by the Lord Mayor and Clerk as well as the Niagara Region's presentation to Area Treasurers. 5. FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS There are no financial implications from adding defaulted fines to the tax roll. The Town is able to keep any interest and penalty that may accrue on the account due the addition of the fines. The collection of defaulted fines may increase net revenues for POA and in turn increase the amount of funds allocated to area municipalities. 6. COMMUNICATIONS As part of the agreement the Town shall, within 30 days of adding the defaulted fine to the tax roll, provide a written notice to the defaulted property owners. 7. CONCLUSION Staff support the new POA collection tool and respectfully recommend that the necessary by-law be prepared. Prepared by, Brenda Garrett Manager of Finance / Treasurer Respectfully submitted, Sheldon Randall Mike Galloway Director of Corporate Services Chief Administrative Officer ATTACHMENTS NOTL POA Inter-municipal Tax Collection Agreement.pdf Presentation to Area Treasurers.pdf