Calgary's 'Bylaw Bill' about to retire
After nearly 32 years with the City of Calgary, Bill Bruce is getting ready to retire.
He has appeared in the media thousands of times, arguably becoming the face of Animal and Bylaw Services, which earned him the nickname “Bylaw Bill.”
Bruce started his tenure with the city in the traffic engineering department and was responsible for developing truck routes, as well as handling traffic signage. For the past 12 years, he’s been the director of Animal and Bylaw Services.
He said one of his first bylaws was also one of the toughest — the smoking bylaw back in 2003.
“It's just physically impossible to respond to a complaint that someone's actually smoking a cigarette," Bruce said.
Other difficult issues are bylaws about pets, and particularly, their droppings.
Bruce said the city has found more efficient ways to deal with the problem.
“We've trained more and more of our officers now on mountain bikes which is the only effective ways to patrol these areas," he said.
When he’s not handing out tickets or dealing with the media, Bruce enjoys many hobbies including wildlife photography.
When asked about a favourite, he brings out a photo of a bear near a hiking trail.
“That's actually a park for a major hiking trail. All these hikers are unaware that this bear is hanging around," Bruce explained.
As his last day nears, Bruce has mixed feelings and says he’ll leave with the same philosophy that he started with.
“Well community is about relationship — it's about neighbours and I've said this from the beginning: the key to being a good neighbour is a balance of respect and tolerance,” Bruce said.
Bruce will work his last day on Friday.
