The District of Houston is managing to deal with the absence of a bylaw enforcement officer, the cost of which it shares equally with the Regional District of Bulkley-Nechako.
The previous officer left earlier this year and the regional district has been looking for a replacement ever since.
In the meantime, District of Houston corporate services officer Holly Brown said Jim Daigneault, the District’s protective services manager who has responsbility for bylaw enforcement, is coping.
“The service is still being maintained and complaints are still being followed up on,” said Brown.
“I am not aware of any significant impacts this temporary vacancy has caused, except a temporary increase to the workload that Jim Daigneault manages on a daily basis.”
The agreement between the District of Houston and the regional district is such that the regional district is such that the regional district is responsbile for the bylaw officer position but that the officer’s services are available to the District of Houston through the cost sharing arrangement.
Regional District of Bulkley Nechako chief administrative officer Curtis Helgesen said the agreement does take into account having the regional district continue to provide services in the case of vacancies.
The cost-shared position was created in mid-2020 when the District of Houston council decided it was not possible or practical to have bylaw enforcement be handled solely by Daigneault who is also the District’s fire chief.
It also followed council’s passing earlier that ear of a standards of maintenance bylaw setting out expectations and fines.
That came after complaints and representations made by residents to the District regarding the current state of some accommodations and the resulting effect on neighbourhood appearances and property values.