City administration is bringing forward a bylaw to write off as uncollectible $294,345 in money owed to the city, the lion’s share arising from outstanding bylaw fines and court fees between 2008 and 2013.

Bylaw fines and court fees during the five-year period account for $263,381 of the outstanding debt, while $20,225 is the result of parking tickets issued in 2019 to vehicles with non-Yukon plates that remain unpaid.

The proposed bylaw to write off the debts was presented to council at its meeting Monday. Council is scheduled to vote on first reading next Monday.

The administrative report to council notes the generally accepted accounting principles require such debt to be written off and recorded.

“In all cases listed in the proposed bylaw, in-house collection procedures have been exhausted and it has been determined that there is little chance of recovery,” says the report.

It notes some of the files of the three individuals and two companies on the list will remain active with collection agencies, and any returns received will be recorded.

In one case, for instance, the report points out the estate of a late resident has not yet settled up with the $4,126 the city maintains is owed by the estate.

But the file will remain active with a collection agency until 2026 unless the debt is paid.

The three individuals owe a total of $5,654 and the two businesses owe a total of $5,083.

Coun. Laura Cabott said taxpayers would not likely be impressed to learn that such a large corporation like Telus would have an outstanding balance.

The administrative report notes that due to an administrative error, the invoice for an advertising contract for rink ice advertising was sent late to the Telus headquarters instead of the local agency that entered into the agreement.

The agent did pay a portion of the advertising but Telus will not pay the rest as the company did not enter into the contract, says the report.

When it came to the unpaid fines and court fees, members of council wondered if it might be possible to take another crack at contacting the individuals in an attempt to collect.

There were suggestions that perhaps publishing their names, as the city does with outstanding property tax accounts, might assist.

But senior staff assured council the city has done what it can to collect the outstanding fines.

Brittany Dixon, the manager of financial services, said there are about 5,000 names on the list, or roughly 1,000 a year between 2008 and 2013.

Many may have moved out of the territory, she said.

Valerie Braga, the director of corporate services, said everybody on the list would have received at least two letters,

But Coun. Dan Boyd said he once had delinquent parking tickets a few years ago but didn’t receive any notice, though there was a small issue with his address.

Had he received notice, he would have paid them, he said.

Boyd said it was only when he went to renew his vehicle registration that he was notified by the Yukon government’s motor vehicles branch that he had outstanding tickets.

Under an arrangement between the city and the branch, any vehicle owner with outstanding tickets exceeding $100 is not allowed to renew registration until the tickets are paid.

It was during the formative years of the arrangement from 2008 to 2013 that the city and the branch worked together to integrate and develop the system, Dixon explained.

Braga said the outstanding fines and court fees from 2014 onward will be brought forward one year at a time instead of all at once.

The city issues an average of $577,226 in bylaw traffic fines annually, and another $17,176 in animal control fines, according to records.