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An increased number of calls to Ottawa bylaw officers could help their case for adding more resources when city council receives a consultant’s review of the department later this year.

There were 80,639 requests handled by the bylaw department in 2017, an eight per cent increase over the previous year.

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The two call types that stand out are parking (15 per cent increase) and property standards (20 per cent increase).

Bylaw Chief Roger Chapman cautioned that the department hasn’t yet done a deep analysis on the calls but he said there were definitely more calls last year related to waste and long grass, likely because of the wet weather in the spring and early summer.

There was a spike in calls last spring because of flooding, with several homeowners dragging out damaged pieces of their houses and ruined possessions to the roadside, leading to complaints.

For neighbours who like their communities in tiptop shape, it was a simple call to 311 to trigger a bylaw investigation.