The Sunrise Health Region's decision to charge its employees for parking is having an effect on the public streets around its facilities.Last summer, the Sunrise administration announced that it planned to charge all of its employees, physicians, and contracted workers parking fees amounting to about $24 per month for full-time staff members. The new charges, implemented to help counter a $2.8 million budget shortfall, came into effect in the fall.
But some employees around the region have refused to accept the deduction from their paycheques. They have instead been parking along the streets surrounding their facilities, which some residents complain interferes with the regular use of the public roadways.
The Town of Saltcoats, concerned that the vehicles are preventing proper snow removal on the road along Lakeside Manor Care Home (LMCH), has gone as far as to send a letter to Sunrise warning that it will be given a bill for additional clearing if the problem continues."We're watching our budget, and when we have to go back and start clearing a second time, it sort of adds up," says Saltcoats Administrator Sherry Woytaz.
It's an extreme example of an issue that has appeared in several Sunrise communities. Yorkton has had problems as well, but they have been relatively minor according to Bylaw Control Officer Kevin Galbraith.
"We were getting some complaints up on Winchester Street by the nursing home there, but that was kind of when the area was under construction and they were parking on both sides of the street. Basically, now that that area's completed, there's no parking on the one side, so there hasn't been any further complaints."
The legal basis for Saltcoats' plan is somewhat hazy. The town has elected not to implement parking restrictions on the street outside LMCH, meaning that any charges to Sunrise must happen through the town's nuisance bylaw.
"I'm hoping it won't come to that," says Woytaz.
In its letter, the town advised Sunrise that any bill sent to the health region would include license plate numbers of the offending vehicles, allowing Sunrise to seek reimbursement from its employees.
Whether the health region has a legal right to charge its employees for parking on property it does not own is another question."That's between Sunrise and their employees," says Woytaz.
The Sunrise Health Region says it has sent a response to the Town of Saltcoats' letter, but it will not discuss that response publicly until the town has had a chance to review it.
The health region has asked its employees not to park on public streets, says Sunrise Director of Communications Sharon Tropin, and hopes that with time staff members will return to their designated parking lots.
For now, employees in Saltcoats do not appear to be satisfied with the compromises being offered. Responding to a proposal by the town that the care home employees park across from the local hotel a block away, a letter claiming to represent "The non-paying parking staff of LMCH" calls it "an absolutely ridiculous suggestion that our vehicles be left parked in front of the local tavern."
The letter alleges that most LMCH staff would accept paying a "reasonable" fee for winter parking to cover maintenance and electrical outlets, but not for parking during other seasons. Currently, seasonal parking plans with Sunrise are made impractical by a $50 administration fee charged whenever a pass is reactivated.
Sunrise's Sharon Tropin directs staff members to the health region's staff website to find a parking option that suits their needs.At the Saltcoats administration office, Sherry Woytaz says the town has no beef with the Sunrise employees unwilling to pay for parking at work.
"Certainly we sympathize with them. We're just trying to keep our roads clear and our costs down."
