REGINA — Dealing with the problem of litter and trash on city streets and alleyways was the focus of Regina’s Clean Communities motion, which passed at their city council meeting Wednesday.
The motion, which passed with a couple of amendments, addressed issues of trash and illegal dumping and overflowing bins in areas such as back alleys.
The issue has been a concern of residents in the Heritage and North Central neighbourhoods, which had seen numerous trash issues as of late. The motion before council called for greater enforcement of the bylaws, including fines against offenders.
Council voted in favour of one amendment where, following an initial warning, fines would be set at $150 for a first offence, $200 for a second and $250 for third offenders.
The other changes addressed in the motion are changes to improve service levels. Another amendment that passed called for the city of Regina to extend the spring cleanup into the fall, at a cost of $125,000. As well, the amendment focused particularly on Heritage and North Central neighbourhoods where the trash issue has been a particular problem.
The indication is administration will bring back an annual report on how the enforcement and other efforts are addressing the trash issues.