The Municipality of McDougall has gotten serious with garbage.
Municipal officers have been conducting blitzes at the town’s dump and transfer station to ensure that only ratepayers are making use of the waste disposal services. Officials say the purpose of the blitz is to both educate and enforce.
Brian Leduc, fire chief and head bylaw official of the municipality of McDougall, said residents can expect to see municipal officers at the waste sites again in the near future.
“We had been noticing over the last while that vehicles were coming in and people were just being complacent,” said Leduc.” They figured, I live here, staff know I live here, so we don’t have to worry about showing our permits here anymore.”
During the blitz of September 29, officials found that the majority of dump users were indeed ratepayers of the area. Of the 250 vehicles that went through the municipality’s transfer station in the four-hour period, 86 per cent had their permits. There were 34 vehicles who didn’t have the proper permit and, after proving they were residents, were issued the correct permit.
Only four vehicles refused to get a permit, saying they had one at home. Officers took note of the license plates of the four users who said they had the permit at home.
“We need to enforce a zero tolerance. You need to have the permit displayed or presented or else you’re turned away. This blitz was conducted, number one, to educate all the people coming in on the day. We did it to inform them we will have a zero tolerance policy,” Leduc said. “You must have your permit displayed.”
Getting a permit is free for residents of McDougall. Visit the McDougall municipal office and present proof of your residence in the municipality to get one.
For more information visit www.municipalityofmcdougall.com.