Small band of individuals costs big bucks

Photo by Martin Podsiad. Free Use. Unsplash

By Cecilia Nasmith

Much as the Cobourg Police Service finds a handful of individuals draining a disproportionate amount of the police budget, Municipal Clerk Brent Larmer told Cobourg council Wednesday that the town's bylaw enforcement faces the same situation.

Reporting statistics for the month of July, Larmer said that their top six offenders accounted for 105 incidents (out of 205), 109 calls for service (out of 221), 24 tickets (out of 37), 214 inspections (out of 752) and 214 resource hours (out of 752) at a salary cost of $9,247 (out of $32,500).

Also for that month, Larmer continued, the top five reasons for their 217 calls for service were animal issues, parks, encampments, lot maintenance and parking.

He noted that officers had identified the parking lot at Trinity United Church has been identified as a hot spot – issues reported included obstructing sidewalks, alcohol and drug use, public urination and defecation, loitering, littering, animal control issues, and the operation of bicycles, skateboards and scooters on sidewalks (with occasional reckless operation).

Their security guards report 217 incidents – 34 that could be classified as significant and eight of them critical. These issues would include medical episodes, fire, theft, intoxication. 77% of those 217 incidents had to do with trespassing and people escorted from property.