The Administrative Monetary Penalty System (AMPS) is a fast and efficient way of processing parking tickets in the City of Port Colborne. If you have received a parking ticket and would like to dispute, please see our AMPS Screening Form. You can read below for detailed information on the AMPS program and process.
You can also view the City's Parking & Traffic By-law 89-2000 for reference along with the attached schedules.
What is AMPS?
The Administrative Monetary Penalty System (AMPS) is a fast and flexible process for payment, appeal and collection of parking penalties of $1,000.00 or less. AMPS is fully managed by the City of Port Colborne and replaces the current judicial appeal process.
AMPS started September 2014 and it applies to parking tickets/violations within the City of Port Colborne that meet the following criteria:
- The parking penalty is not more than $1,000.00
Under the AMPS program, a “parking violation” will become known as the “parking penalty notice”. These parking penalties must be paid within 15 days of being issued.
Payment options
By credit card |
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| The City of Port Colborne accepts Visa, MasterCard and Amex payments via Paymentus, a third party automated payment service. Credit card payments can only be made online 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. A convenience fee is charged on each transaction.
The convenience fee charges are as follows:
There are two ways to pay by Credit Card:
Payments made by Visa, MasterCard and Amex are processed the next business day. Please ensure that your payment is made one business day before the due date to avoid any late payment charges. |
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In person |
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You can pay your parking ticket in person at the cashier counter on the first floor of City Hall in Port Colborne located at 66 Charlotte Street. We accept cash, debit, cheques, bank drafts or money orders. Hours of OperationMonday to Friday – 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. (closed on all statutory holidays) |
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By mail |
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| Make your cheque payable to the City of Port Colborne and mail to:
City of Port Colborne 66 Charlotte Street Port Colborne, ON L3K 3C8
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After hours drop box |
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There is a 24 hour mail drop slot located at the front of City Hall. Make your cheque payable to the City of Port Colborne.
No cash payments please. |
You have the right, within a limited time, to dispute a parking penalty by requesting a Screening review meeting. A Screening review can be conducted in person (video chat options available) or written submission only. You can select your preferred option when submitting your application.
The Screening review meeting is overseen by a Screening Officer who has the authority to uphold, cancel or reduce the parking penalty.
The holder of the penalty notice has up to 15 days after the Screening Officer’s decision to appeal the outcome of the Screening review meeting to a Hearing review meeting. The Hearing Officer’s decision is final.
About the Penalty Notice
| What is a Penalty Notice? What does they look like |
| 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 when they have committed a parking by-law infraction. |
| How are Penalty Notices issued? |
The City of Port Colborne Municipal Law Enforcement Officers can issue a Penalty Notice through the following methods:
Parking-related Penalty Notices are generally issued by attaching the notice to the vehicle or by serving the notice directly to the operator. |
| Are there any additional administrative fees? |
| Yes – under specific circumstances, additional fees are applied to the original penalty due. For instance, additional administrative fees are applied to late payments, the failure to attend a scheduled Screening or Hearing review and the Ministry of Transportation (MTO) searches. |
I just received a Penalty Notice. What now?
| What are my options when a Penalty Notice is issued? |
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| How can I request a review? |
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The registered owner of the vehicle or the person named in the Penalty Notice may request an initial review (Screening) of the Penalty Notice by a Screening Officer by submitting a request for a Screening by contacting the By-law Enforcement Division at (905) 835-2900 ext 207 or attending in person to schedule a review at: |
| What if I am still not satisfied with the results of a Screening? |
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If the matter is still in dispute following the review by the Screening Officer, you may request a review by a Hearing Officer. A request must be made within fifteen (15) calendar days following the receipt of the Screening Officer’s decision. It is important to note that you may only appeal the Screening Officer’s decision and that only the information/evidence submitted at the Screening will be considered at the Hearing Review. |
| Does it cost anything to request a Screening or Hearing? |
| No. A fee is not charged to review a Penalty Notice. |
| Can I authorize someone else to act on my behalf? |
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Anyone can make payment on your behalf as long as they have your Penalty Notice and license plate number. The registered owner of the vehicle or the person named in the Penalty Notice is the only one who can request a Screening or Hearing review and must attending the scheduled Screening or Hearing review appointment. An authorized representative (witness) may also attend a Screening or Hearing review provided that they are authorized by the registered owner of the vehicle or the person named in the Penalty Notice. |
| When and where are Screening and Hearing reviews held? |
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All Screening reviews are held on the first available date and all Hearing reviews are held as soon as possible depending on availability. These meetings are held at the Port Colborne Fire Hall, 3 Killaly St W, Port Colborne, Ontario L3K 6H1 Monday to Friday (excluding holidays) 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Screening reviews can be held via written request, in-person and through video conference. Hearing reviews are held through video conference. The AMPS Electronic Meetings Procedure guide is available for reference. While every attempt will be made to accommodate your preferred appointment time period, you should be aware that specific requests cannot always be guaranteed. |
| How do I receive a status update on my Screening request? |
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Once you have submitted your written screening request, you can request for a status update by completing the Request for Screening/Hearing Status Update form. Please note that written screening requests may take 5-7 business days before it is scheduled for the next available date with a Screening Officer. |
| What if I don't attend a scheduled Screening or Hearing review? |
| The Penalty Notice amount will be affirmed and the registered owner of the vehicle or the person named in the Penalty Notice will be assessed a Failure to appear fee of $50.00 for a Screening and $100.00 for a Hearing. |
| What if I missed the deadline to schedule a Screening? |
| You may request an extension in time to schedule a Screening. The request must be made within fifteen (15) days of the Penalty Notice being issued. The decision to grant an extension in time may or may not be approved by the Screening Officer. |
| What happens if I ignore the Penalty Notice? |
| Failure to pay a Penalty Notice not only results in additional administrative fees, but additional parking penalties will be sent to the Ontario Registrar of Motor Vehicles who will deny the renewal of existing or issue a new vehicle license plate. |
The AMPS Process
| What is different with the AMPS process? |
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The previous process for disputing parking tickets was through the judicial system. Wait times to appeal a parking ticket can be as much as a year. AMPS is fully managed by the City of Port Colborne and both Screening review meetings and Hearing review appeals will be resolved within several months from the date of the parking penalty that was issued. With AMPS replacing the current judicial process for appealing parking tickets, valuable court time will be freed up and utilized by our courts to deal with more serious issues. The City of Port Colborne’s AMPS program also provides the public with flexibility regarding where, when and how they can interact with the City to resolve their parking penalty. This creates a more customer focused service. Screening reviews can be written only if you choose and your attendance is not required. |
| About the AMPS program |
| The City of Port Colborne’s AMPS is an approach to deal with minor parking by-law infractions that are $1,000.00 or less in a fair, effective and efficient manner.
The AMPS program of enforcement transfer parking by-law disputes from courtroom to the municipality through the use of Screening Officers and independent Hearings Officers who can modify, cancel, or affirm penalties. This approach reduces congestion in the courts and provides a more local and accessible dispute resolution system. The AMPS program began on September 1, 2014. |
| Why did the City of Port Colborne move to the new AMPS program? |
| The Provincial Courts in the Niagara Region provided authority to each municipality to handle the adjudication of parking tickets. This measure was introduced to help the over-burdened courts by streamlining the process and allowing municipalities to handle minor parking by-law infraction. City Council adopted the use of AMPS in May 2014. |
| How is the new AMPS program better? |
| Resolving minor parking by-law infractions could potentially take months in the congested court system. The AMPS program helps to speed up the process by resolving minor parking by-law infractions in weeks while maintaining your right to request a review of your Penalty Notice. |
| The AMPS program is more effective because: |
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Contact Information
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