08-26
"G. McDonal
Chief Administrative Officer.
READ A FIRST, SECOND AND THIRD TIME AND FINAllY PASSED THIS 23RD DAY OF
SEPTEMBER 2008.
2 THAT this By-law shall come into force and become effective upon the fina
passing hereof.
1. THAT the Write-off Policy, attached as Appendix "A" hereto and forming part of this
by-law, detailing the process and steps which the Corporation of the County of Elgin shall
follow in order to cease the active collection of unpaid fines imposed for matters
adjudicated in its Provincial Offences Act Court be approved.
NOW THEREFORE the Municipal Council of the Corporation of the County of Elgin
hereby enacts as follows:
WHEREAS the Ministry of the Attorney General issued POA Info Bulletin #POA-1
126 on February 25,2008 stipulating that municipalities with responsibility for
administering Provincial Offences Act Court shall establish a Write-Off Policy to govern
process by which to make the decision to cease active collection of outstanding and
unpaid fines.
the
WHEREAS the Corporation of the County of Elgin is a signatory to the
Memorandum of Understanding with the Ministry of the Attorney General under which it
assumed responsibility for the administration of the local Provincial Offences Act Court;
and
B-
ELGIN'S PROVINCIAL OFFENCES COURT"
AND UNPAID FINES IMPOSED BY THE CORPORATION OF THE COUNTY OF
'A BY-lAW TO APPROVE A POLICY REGARDING THE COLLECTION OF OVERDUE
By-law No. 08-26
COUNTY OF ELGIN
2.5 Ministry of the Attorney General wi
the ICON system.
periodically,
2.4 Provincial Offences Court Services will flag the cases approved for cessation of
collection in the ICON system and maintain the record in perpetuity in accordance
with the County Retention Policy.
run a purge of the flagged cases in
2.3
For audit purposes, Financial Services or their agent will maintain all necessary
supporting information in perpetuity regarding the reason the write-off is
recommended.
2.2 Financial Services or their agent will archive the cases in the collections database
system and will provide the approved list to court services
Provincial Offences fines in default are the responsibility of Financial Services.
Recommendations to cease active collection of specific Provincial Offences fines In
default, until circumstances change, will be prepared by Financial Services or their
agent at least annually and will require the approval of the Director of Financial
Services.
2
2.0
1
Responsibilities/Authori
Special note is to be made that purging cases from the courts system and ceasing active
collection activities on POA defaulted fines does not absolve offenders from the
requirement to pay the fines, as debts to the Crown are owed in perpetuity (are not subject
to the Limitations Act) and are never forgiven. Under no circumstances is the public to be
under the assumption or informed that collection activity will never be resumed while a
case remains in default.
'Write-off' refers to the purging of fines from
court database system
the courts information system only.
CON
"Agent" refers to any third party that may be contracted to manage
or the collections database on behalf of the County of Elgin
is the current
the collections portfolio
'Accounts Receivable" refers to outstanding POA fines receivable
Definitions
1
.4 To ensure the County of Elgin complies with Public Sector Accounting Board
recommendations regarding Revenue Recognition as it pertains to Accrual
Accounting.
1
3
To archive and maintain the inactive files for audit purposes and to remove the
inactive files from the court database system
2 To establish guidelines to cease the active collection of outstanding and overdue fines
until conditions change and/or new information is received
1
This policy outlines the guidelines to be followed to ensure that the County of Elgin
complies with Bulletin POA-IB-114 and subsequent revised Bulletin POA-IB-126
issued by the Provincial Offences Act and Strategic Planning Branch of the Ministry of
the Attorney General.
1
1.0
1
Purpose:
COUNTY OF ELGIN
CEASE ACTIVE COLLECTION - WRITE-OFF POLICY
SCHEDULE "A"
By-Law No. 08-26
2
3.3 All reasonable efforts have been made to minimize the value of POA accounts
receivable that are recommended for purging
3.2 Due diligence will be exercised and can be demonstrated to ensure that all
reasonable collection efforts have been made prior to recommending cessation of
collection and will remain available for audit purposes in the Collections Database
1)
2)
3)
4)
5)
6)
Offender is deceased
Offender is a defunct/closed corporation
Offender's Driver's license is not recorded
All efforts to contact/locate offender have been exhausted
Conviction date of defaulted fine has exceeded 6 years
Underpayments of fees are not greater than $25
The criteria for identifying cases for archiving In the collection database and purging
from ICON are
3
3.0
1
Cessation of Collections Activities
3