Administrative Monetary Penalty System

 “A Person who is given a Penalty Notice” for a Parking By-law infraction is the Registered Owner(s) of the vehicle. For AMPS issued under other by-laws, “A Person who is given a Penalty Notice” is the Person who is given a Penalty Notice relating to the contravention of a Designated By-Law or Property Standards Order. 

Review By-law 20-073

• Pay the Penalty Notice; or
• Request a review by a Screening Officer by filling out this form before 4:30 p.m. on the 21^st day after the Penalty Notice Date.

Please have your Penalty Notice with you when you pay:

• Pay online (Parking Penalty Notices only): (VISA, MasterCard, American Express or VISA debit or MasterCard debit)

• By mail (cheque) sent to 500 George St. N., Peterborough, ON K9H 3R9 – Attention: Finance – AMPS Payment. Note: If paying by cheque, be sure to add your Penalty Notice number to the front of your cheque.
• In person (cash, cheque, debit, VISA, MasterCard, American Express, VISA debit or MasterCard debit) at City Hall, 500 George St. N.
• By telephone, using VISA, MasterCard, American Express, VISA debit or MasterCard debit). Please call 705-742-7777 ext. 1865

A Person who is given a Penalty Notice may request that the Administrative Penalty be reviewed by a Screening Officer by submitting the Request for Screening before 4:30 p.m. on the 21^st day after the Penalty Notice Date. Please review By-law 20-073 carefully and pay particular attention to Section 13.

The types of Screening that can be requested are:

• An in person Screening; or
• Written Screening (a written Screening allows your Request for Screening to be processed without your scheduled attendance).

Your Request for a Screening expires if it has not been exercised before 4:30 p.m. (Eastern Standard Time) on the 21^st calendar day after the Penalty Notice Date. Once the Request for Screening form has been completed and received, the individual will be notified of their scheduled Screening date and time.

Note: For all Screenings, a written Screening Decision will be sent to you. If you do not attend or do not remain at the Screening, you will be deemed to have abandoned your request for a review by the Screening Officer and you will not be able to request a Hearing. 

Extension: What if I missed the deadline to schedule a Screening? 

If the Person who was given a Penalty Notice has a valid reason for missing the 21-day deadline, the Person can complete the form called Request for Extension of Time for a Screening and the Screening Officer will review your reason(s) and grant the extension or not. Please review By-law 20-073 and pay particular attention to Section 13(c), Request for Extension of Time for a Screening.

What if I am not satisfied with the result of a Screening? 

If you are not satisfied with the Screening Decision, and you attended and remained at the Screening, you may request a Hearing by a Hearing Officer. Please review By-law 20-073 carefully and pay particular attention to Sections 13 and 14.

Your ability to request a Hearing expires if it has not been exercised before 4:30 p.m. (Eastern Standard Time) on the 21^st calendar day after the Screening Decision Date.

Note: At a Hearing, the Hearing Officer will only consider the information/evidence submitted at the Screening. 

No, each Penalty Notice needs to be dealt with on its own merits; that means that you need to complete, as appropriate, one of the following forms for each Penalty Notice you are disputing:

• Request for Screening
• Request for Extension of Time for a Screening
• Request for a Hearing
• Request for Extension of Time for a Hearing

Anyone can make payment on your behalf as long as they have your Penalty Notice and licence plate number.

Only a Person who is given a Penalty Notice may exercise the request for a Screening Decision.

With respect to Penalty Notices issued for Parking by-law contraventions, if the Penalty Notice was placed on or affixed to the vehicle, only the vehicle owner(s) may exercise the right to request a review before a Screening Officer or, after a Screening Decision has been issued, request a Hearing. The Person must attend and remain at the scheduled Screening or Hearing.

An authorized representative may also attend a Screening or Hearing with the Person, being the registered owner of the vehicle or the Person who is given a Penalty Notice relating to the contravention of a Designated By-Law or Property Standards Order. 

For Hearings, only an authorized representative, who must be a lawyer, a licensed paralegal or a person who is exempt from the requirement to be licensed by by-law pursuant to the Law Society Act, R.S.P. 1990, c. L. 8, may attend with the Person.  

A person who has received a Penalty Notice and who has requested a Screening or, if eligible, a Hearing, will be given at least 7 days notice of the Screening or Hearing date. Once scheduled, appointments for a Screening or a Hearing cannot be rescheduled and the applicable Screening or Hearing Administrative Fee(s) will be added to any Screening or Hearing which you miss or fail to remain at. 

If you have concerns about your ability to be available at short notice for your Screening, you may wish to choose to have your Screening happen in writing without you needing to attend.

Hearings are held either electronically or in person and you must attend the hearing. 

Please see Section 13(c)(v)(3) of By-law 20-073 for information about Screenings without meeting the Screening Officer and see Section 14(d)(v)(2) for information about options for meeting with the Hearing Officer. 

In-person Screenings are generally held on Tuesday and Wednesday afternoons at City Hall. The Person who has elected to attend an in-person Screening will be scheduled on a docket with other people for the selected time, and the Screening Officer will determine the order in which Screenings are held. 

If you do not attend or fail to remain at your scheduled Screening, the Administrative Penalty will be affirmed and the Person who was given the Penalty Notice will be assessed the applicable No-Show Administrative Fee of $50.00.

Note: If you did not attend or if you failed to remain at your scheduled Screening, the Screening Officer’s decision is final and it may not be appealed. 

What if I don't attend a scheduled Hearing? 

If you fail to attend your Hearing at the scheduled time, a Hearing No Show Fee will be added to the amount owing. 

If you do not attend or fail to remain at your scheduled Hearing, the Administrative Penalty will be affirmed and the Person who was given the Penalty Notice will be assessed the applicable No-Show Administrative Fee of $100.00.

Note: If you did not attend or if you failed to remain at your scheduled Hearing, the Hearing Officer’s decision is final and not subject to review, including review by any Court.

Failure to pay a Penalty Notice will result in additional Administrative Fees being added to the amount owing.

For unpaid parking Penalty Notices, notice will be sent to the Ontario Registrar of Motor Vehicles who will deny the renewal of existing licence plates, or the deny the issuance of new vehicle licence plates, or, for some classes of vehicles, deny the issuance of a validation sticker.

The City may:

• revoke any licence or permit issued to the individual by the City
• add the outstanding amount of the Penalty Notice to the tax roll for any property in the City for which all of the owners are responsible for paying the Penalty Notice and collect it in the manner as municipal taxes
• send the outstanding amount to a collection agency
• take such other steps as may be permitted by applicable law

An Administrative Monetary Penalty system, using Penalty Notices, is an emerging approach to dealing with minor by-law infractions in a manner which is fair, effective and efficient. This approach has been adopted by numerous municipalities, the province and by the federal government and is designed to streamline the enforcement process and increase compliance with City of Peterborough by-laws.

The AMP system transfers by-law disputes from a Provincial courtroom to the municipality through the use of Screening and Hearings Officers who are able to modify, cancel, or affirm penalties. This approach is designed to reduce congestion in the courts and to provide a local, accessible and efficient dispute resolution system. 

The City is moving towards an AMP system in order to encourage compliance with City by-laws without creating a punitive system of fines which is tied to the provincial court system. AMP systems have become a common practice amongst numerous municipalities, the province, the federal government, and in other jurisdictions around the world. In Ontario, the use of municipal AMPs is permitted under the Municipal Act, 2001 and certain pieces of provincial legislation. AMP systems help the over-burdened courts by streamlining the process and allowing municipalities to handle minor by-law infractions. Peterborough’s City Council approved the implementation of an AMP system with By-law 20-073. 

Using a trial to resolve minor by-law infractions, such as parking matters, could potentially take months in the congested court system. The AMP system helps to speed up the process by resolving minor by-law infraction matters in a shorter period of time and through using a municipally-run resolution process which maintains an individual's right to request a Screening of their Penalty Notice and, in some cases, to request a Hearing before a Hearing Officer.

The AMP system is more effective because:

• Unlike the Provincial Offences system, citizens can choose to resolve by-law infraction matters via written submissions or electronic hearings rather than through in-person hearings
• It enables the City to deal with minor by-law infractions in a timely manner;
• Citizens may request an extension of time in which to request a review by a Screening Officer or a Hearing by a Hearing Officer;
• Citizens may, during a Screening or Hearing, request an extension of time to pay a fine from a Screening Officer or Hearing Officer;
• It reduces congestion in the over-burdened provincial court system; and
• It results in a better use of court time and other resources for more serious matters such as Highway Traffic Act offences.

A Penalty Notice is the same as a ticket except that it requires payment of a penalty instead of a fine. The Penalty Notice is issued by a Municipal Law Enforcement Officer to an individual or corporation when they have committed a by-law infraction. This is a sample of a Penalty Notice issued for a parking infraction. 

City of Peterborough Municipal Law Enforcement Officers can issue a Penalty Notice through the following methods:

•  On a Person's vehicle
•  In person
•  Through registered or regular mail to the individual's last known address
•  By facsimile (fax) to the individual's last known facsimile transmission number
•  By email to the individual's last known email address