Northern communities look to write off more than $850K in unpaid fines

CTV News

2 days ago

An old coin parking meter is seen in this file photo. The write-offs include unpaid parking fines dating back 10 years.
City councils in Timmins and Greater Sudbury are looking at writing off unpaid fines dating back years that have been deemed uncollectible.
In Timmins, council voted late last month to write off a total of 1,055 in provincial offences fines that are more than a decade old.
They total $336, 919.45 and include $225, 377.38 in unpaid Tobacco Tax Act fines, which make up about 67 per cent of the total. The second largest batch are fines issued to dissolved companies totalling $54,451, followed by liquor violations ($18,427.90), bylaw offences ($17, 871.75) and parking tickets ($17, 848.82).
'An operational review carried out by the Ministry of the Attorney General's office recommended that we should review all accounts receivable and write off fines that are deemed to be uncollectable,' the staff report on the matter said.
Won't affect the budget
'We do not book POA fines revenue until we collect the fines so there will be no financial impact on our books.'
In Sudbury, council will vote next week on writing off $519,949.09 in fines deemed uncollectible.
While $2,804.25 of that total are parking fines, the rest are grouped into a single category of POA offences.
'POA offences are far more varied and include offences under municipal bylaws such as zoning and a multitude of provincial statutes such as driving offences, trespassing, liquor licence violations and hunting and fishing infractions,' a staff report said.
The fines deemed uncollectible in Sudbury date from 2019-2021, the report said. Like Timmins, Sudbury doesn't include fine revenue in budget calculations until the fines are paid, so the write-off won't affect the city budget.
'The write-off does not absolve the offender or debtor from the requirement to pay the fine that has been written off,' the report said.
'All penalties imposed under the act are debts owed to the Crown and are not subject to the Limitations Act. Therefore, collection activities for written-off accounts can be resumed when conditions change. Unpaid debts can be reinstated and enforced at any time in the future if an opportunity arises.'
Council will vote on the write-off at its June 10 meeting.