How nine people defeated Salt Stein. Mary Parking Tickets

Salt stee. Mary City Council will be asked on Monday to make last year’s Toys for Tickets campaign a permanent, annual affair.

From November 1 to December 1 last year, the city hosted a pilot event in which parking fines (excluding accessible parking tickets) could be paid for by providing new toys worth or equivalent to Salt Transit’s annual stuff-a-bus fundraiser.

Nine bad parkers paid $ 130 for tickets and $ 180 worth of toys, said Brent Laming, director of community services.

This is not a stellar response compared to other communities with similar programs.

The city of Orlea has provided more than 35,000 toys since launching its campaign in 2006.

Bradford West Guillimbury raises about $ 3,000 in toys each year, thus paying 15 percent of its tickets.

But the City of Salt Ste. Mary hopes the staff will take the idea here and Laming recommends that it continue indefinitely.

Meanwhile, city councilors will also be asked on Monday to side with Nastier on parking enforcement:

• Extend one year pilot for enforcement of third party bailout with Norpro Security and Investigations
• Allow the proposer a more active implementation approach to increase the level of service
• Issue a request for a proposal in 2021 for a three-year timeframe on satisfactory results measured by staff. If a budget increase is needed, it will be brought back to the council as part of the 2022 budget process

The City Council meeting on Monday will be televised live at 4:30 p.m.