By Roy Wood, Special to the Times Chronicle

Osoyoos may soon join the rest of the Okanagan Valley in a simplified system for bylaw enforcement that will all but eliminate the need to take disputes to court.

The so-called Bylaw Notice Enforcement and Dispute Adjudication Ticketing System (BDAS) came into being following provincial legislation in 2003. Since that time, Vernon, Lake Country, Kelowna, West Kelowna, Peachland, Summerland, Penticton, the RDOS and Oliver have signed on.

At a recent Osoyoos council committee meeting, the administration was instructed to bring a report so that town council can decide whether to join the program.

The BDAS system provides several procedural advantages over the current Municipal Ticket Information (MTI) system: tickets for bylaw infractions would no longer have to be personally served to the offender; disputes would be settled other than by going to provincial court; and collecting fines would be easier.

Under MTI, bylaw notices must be personally served by an enforcement officer. Using the BDAS system, a notice may be delivered by leaving it on a car or trailer for parking offences or simply mailed to the offender. “This step is a considerable savings of time and effort and reduces delays in the enforcement of bylaw contravention,” according to the recent report.

The current requirement that disputes over bylaw tickets need to be resolved at provincial court is cumbersome and inefficient, says the report.

“Local government bylaw matters are not a priority for the Provincial Court system and are regularly delayed for more serious matters resulting in added costs and inconvenience to witnesses and administration,” it said.

The BDAS system would provide a system of so-called “screening officers,” who would be appointed by the town and would have broad authority to deal with bylaw notices.

The screening officer could decide to simply cancel the notice if they believed the offence did not occur or if substantial information was missing from the notice.

Where compliance is the goal of the notice, the screening officer could enter a “compliance agreement” with the offender under which the bylaw contravention is acknowledged and actions to remedy it are agreed to, along with a timeline for compliance.

If neither dismissal nor compliance is possible, and the offender still wants to dispute the allegation, the process proceeds to an adjudication hearing, which is conducted in person, in writing or by telephone.

The person entering an adjudication would agree to a $25 fee, payable only if the ticket is not dismissed and the fine is declared payable in full.

The report described the BDAS system as “cost effective,” estimating the annual cost of participation at about $300.

The administration will return a report at a future council meeting, where a decision will be made to join the rest of the Okanagan in the system.