Bylaw Services Has New Boss

Monday, February 08, 2010 09:11 PM

Prince George, B.C. – There is a new top dog for the City of Prince George Bylaw Services department, but just who it is, won’t be announced just yet. That position has been vacant for the past 5 months since Ken Craig decided it was time to take a break. We do know the new manager is male, and that he has significant policy development experience.

It is the vicious dog bylaw that has some on City Council asking questions. Councilor Brian Skakun says he doesn’t see that is has made any difference, that vicious dogs are not being muzzled as per the bylaw requirement, and they are running loose.

Administrative Services Manager Rob Whitwam says bylaw services continues to be complaint driven, and while he doesn’t have immediate numbers to indicate if there has been a decline in the number of dog bites or complaints about vicious dogs, he will do his best to get those numbers and report back to Council.

“It is unfortunate the bylaw services department doesn’t have the resources to be anything more than a complaints department” says Councilor Skakun,.

Whitwam says he knows his department is facing challenges, and in the future may have to take a look at the future needs of the department and what that would look like financially for future budgets.

Members of Council are not willing to wait too long. They have approved a review of the needs of Bylaw Services. That review is to be complete by August but there could be some assistance in the not too distant future if the requested enhancement for downtown initiatives is passed. That would create a $350 thousand dollar contingency fund which could help fund some bylaw enforcement issues while a review of the needs of bylaw services has been conducted.

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Posted on Monday, February 08, 2010 09:11 PM in News by 250 News

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Comments

Posted by: Denaljo on February 8 2010 11:17 PM

So! If we have not had a bylaw boss for 5 months; do we really need one???

Posted by: Oldun on February 8 2010 11:21 PM

We should be able to pay his wages with the new smoke tax (oops, that should be residential wood burning fines) While we're at it, lets enforce the illegal suite bylaw.

Posted by: gus on February 8 2010 11:49 PM

What the heck is going on? Why can this person's name not be announced? Did he hold out for more than the $100,000 communications guy .....

Hey, wait a minute .... the communmications guy may still be vacationing and he needs to approve the media release .....

Or maybe they need a consultant or two to get just the right photo op ...

Posted by: acrider54 on February 9 2010 7:12 AM

And just how much does that position pay?

Posted by: new2pg on February 9 2010 8:15 AM

The Vancouver sun shows that Ken Craig earned just over $100,000 in 2007

Posted by: verballabel on February 9 2010 8:17 AM

in 2007 PG bylaw manager Ken Craig was compensated $101,766. I'm not sure if that is the exact amount.. So or new manager should be getting paid more than that.

Posted by: new2pg on February 9 2010 8:24 AM

The Vancouver sun shows that Ken Craig earned just over $100,000 in 2007

Posted by: Harbinger on February 9 2010 1:44 PM

So what? After the tax man gets through with him, he won't be braggin'.

Posted by: gus on February 9 2010 2:35 PM

Someone who has been in that position for a long time would normally be at the top step.

Someone who comes in new would normally start at a lower step, generally in the middle if they have the required background. In fact, the lowest step is there for a reason .... for those who have the minimum experience required to do the job.

Why have a range from bottom to top if that is not how it works? Why have a minimum requirement for knowledge, skills and attitude to do a job if one is not willing to hire at that minimum level?

Posted by: Mr. PG on February 9 2010 7:09 PM

Does our City Hall ship not have a captain?

We are proposing to pay someone over $100,000 to answer irate phone calls from the public.

This is insanity!

Posted by: interceptor on February 9 2010 7:40 PM

How many people are actually in the bylaw office? It seems to have no teeth at all - heck, go park on any given block and you can probably spot a bylaw infraction. Does anything ever come of this department, or is it just lip service?

Posted by: Mr. PG on February 9 2010 8:02 PM

Can "INTERCEPTOR" please confirm that they have an entire Department for fielding a few phone calls?

Definitely insanity!

Posted by: interceptor on February 9 2010 8:19 PM

quote from the city web page - Bylaw Enforcement department
"As the enforcement arm of the City, the staff administers and enforces our parking, animal control, noise, property maintenance, zoning and water usage bylaws."
I dont know how many people, but I would think that "staff" refers to more than one - lol

Posted by: Mr. PG on February 9 2010 8:55 PM

What a cushy job for $100,000!