In The Dark

A pre-meeting was held before our last All Members Meeting. Those in attendance included the Board of Directors, past Directors, representatives from the co-op sector, the co-op's lawyer, the outside Chairperson and our Office Co-ordinator. What transpired at this meeting?

Why are ex-Board members still meeting?

Why is it that Members aren't being informed as to the status of the co-op, even though we have a paid Office Co-ordinator?

Documents, subsidy files and other files have gone missing. Why? Is there no accountability whatsoever?

Why did we spend down our Capital Reserves without permission from CMHC or The Agency? Who contracted the work?

It was strongly advocated at our All Members Meeting that members hand in 12 post-dated housing charge cheques. How can one do this with such lax office security and the fact that subsidy calculations are being changed on a daily basis?

Why haven't Members received subsidy applications, but their subsidies are somehow being calculated?

Why were the Minutes from the two Special Meetings regarding evictions not included with our All Members Meeting package?

The ex-President stated at the All Members Meeting that the Board has adopted a policy of non violence. Would that be retroactive?

Just a few unanswered questions.

A Silver Lining

Our co-op is in the midst of tumultuous change, but ironically, I feel that we are moving in a positive direction. If our new direction works, it could lay the groundwork for how co-ops are to function in the future. My suggestion would be that we opt for complete outside management. The co-op should have no self-policing capabilities, no unit inspection team, no access to member files and no one person should be the liaison to the outside management team. Co-op Members could instead participate in social activities like the Spring and Fall cleanups. To me this would be a more professional approach to co-op management or good governance, if you will.

At the same time it is essential that co-op Members be treated with respect by the outside management team. Member concerns must be addressed, letters or emails answered and phone calls returned. I emphasize this point, because to do otherwise is abusive. The general membership must also receive reports by the outside management team on a regular basis.

I believe that by going this route, the co-op could breathe once again.

The Countdown

As a prelude to our All Members Meeting, our Treasurer distributed a somewhat crabby letter to the membership. Her last paragraph stated:

All I can say is if you are not willing to be part of the solution then pay your housing charge on time and SHUT UP or GET OUT.

The Butcher, The Baker, The Candlestick Maker. No, they weren't in attendance, but our accountant, a court stenographer, the co-op's lawyer, representatives from CHASEO, The Agency and an outside Chairperson were all present at our co-op's meeting last night. These are the highlights of the topics discussed:

• Based on the Building Assessment which was done on our co-op and our dire financial situation, the representative from The Agency could not recommend the refinancing of our co-op to CMHC; therefore there's no money to fix up all the empty units.
• That the co-op is cash strapped and will continue to be unless our arrears are cleaned up and Members pay their housing charges on time.
• That an interim Board comprised of two Members from the co-op and three people from outside the co-op could manage the co-op for two years in order to gain control of our finances.
• The Auditor stressed how difficult it was to get this audit done because of missing documentation. Charts and financial statements prepared by the Auditor and The Agency clearly indicated our financial straits.

Members expressed frustration in not being able to fix up the empty units in order to rent them in an effort to increase our revenue. Members also complained about the state of their own units with rotting windows and doors being the main factors.

A short discussion ensued concerning the requisition to dissolve the Board of Directors. Before a vote was taken, one of the Board Members blurted out to call off the vote and slammed his written resignation on the table. In a premeditated show of solidarity, all the other Directors slammed their tucked away resignation letters on the table, stormed out of the room and and before we knew it, the Board of Directors was NO MORE. It was quite a dramatic presentation and I'm sure our guests were quite aghast at the goings-on. Simultaneously, there was a gigantic sigh of relief from many of the Members at large. We've been part of the solution all along!

What Is This?

The President of the co-op, in a long and rambling letter to Members of the co-op, defended the Board of Directors' position regarding a Motion to Dissolve the Board to be brought up at tomorrow night's All Members Meeting. I was one of the requisitionists who signed the Petition to dissolve the Board. A final paragraph was tacked on to her notice, which was evident by its contrasting very light type face and different formatting. It stated, typos included:

If CMHC take over the co-op, the first thing they will do is review whether we are viable. they will review the current subsidy situation in Phase I and decided that several need to be cut or worse yet since we have used all the CMHC funds at this point all subsidies could be axed.

Is this a threat? I live in Phase I. Could I be one of the 'several' subsidized members who might lose their subsidy? And all of this is going to happen if the Board of Directors is dissolved? According to the Auditor's report, CMHC or The Agency may take over the co-op because of financial mismanagement, missing documentation and missing very sensitive member files.

Good Governance?

Our co-op is aging and it's not aging gracefully. Our Capital Reserves are depleted and I'm sure if this is happening to our co-op, other co-ops are also undergoing the same stresses. Volunteers generally do not possess the expertise necessary to deal with the enormous responsibility of addressing co-ops' physical restructuring and financial sustainability. Inevitably, co-ops evolve and the lack of volunteerism leads us towards utilizing another model, Property Management. But getting the right model of Property Management is tricky.

Office Co-ordinators reinvented themselves into Property Managers some time ago, receiving higher compensation, no doubt. Sometimes these 'Property Managers' have strong ties to the co-op sector - insiders if you will. This is too cozy for my liking. However, the co-op sector has now adopted a new integrated management style. It's called 'Good Governance'. Will our Office Co-ordinators, turned Property Managers, now be called 'Governors'? And if so, will it be Good?

Subsidy Calculations - Part III

It's subsidy renewal time and we still haven't received our application. The Office Co-ordinator stated the reason why we haven't received the application, is because an error was made in the calculation of our subsidy. How can our subsidy be calculated without our application being submitted in the first place? I wonder ...

Appeal to a Higher Power

Me: God, is there an Occupancy By-law?

God: There is, my child, it's Chapter 18 in The Book.

Me: What does it say, God?

God: Why it says that there's a minimum and maximum number of people who can live in their units.

Me: If I want to God, can I have 15 people living with me in a 4-bedroom unit?

God: No, my child, because that would be in violation of the By-law. The By-law says that the maximum number of people in a 4-bedroom unit is nine.

Me: God, can one person live in a 4-bedroom unit?

God: No, my child, because the minimum number of people in a 4-bedroom is four.

Me: Does the minimum apply to everyone?

God: Yes, my child, minimum and maximums go together. The By-law is whole.

Me: Why, God?

God: It's called sharing the wealth, my child. There are many families in need of homes and people should not be overhoused.

Me: God - we have discrimination in our co-op.

God: I know, my child, I know.

Me: God . . . are there any exceptions to the rule?

God: Yes, my child, there are, due to individual circumstances.

Me: God, if I ever live in a 2-bedroom unit alone, will I have to move?

God: No, my child, because the Occupancy By-law says that the minimum number of people in a 2-bedroom unit is one.

Me: Why is that, God?

God: Because, my child, there are no smaller units in your co-op.

Me: Thank-you, God. I love you. Nite-Nite.

God: Sleep tight, my child. I love you too.

*****

There is no section dedicated to the definition or explanation of Security of Tenure in our by-laws. It is only alluded to in the vaguest of terms in the Occupancy By-law and the paragraph has been altered. It is not included in our Principles of Co-operation. If Members can stay overhoused in their units, there'd be no need for a minimum occupancy standard tied to the maximum occupancy standard. There would just be a huge arrow pointed downward for subsidized Members, if you know what I mean.

Ted Ned & Jill

Artist: JH - Son

Ned: Hey, Ted, wanna go to Zaphod's tonight?

Ted: Can't. Hafta go to a Board meeting.

Ned: That sucks! Why?

Ted: They wanna know what I'm doing.

Ned: Wha?

Ted: Yeah, they wanna know where I work and what I make.

Ned: Wow - that's never happened to me.

Ted: Yeah, that's 'cause your folks aren't on a subsidy.

Ned: What's that?

Ted: Don't know. But my folks said that they'll always be on my case.

Ned: Not me, man. I'm going tree planting in B.C. this summer. Wanna come?

Ted: Can't. My folks said that if I go away, even for awhile, the co-op will make 'em move.

Ned: Freakin' weird, man. I do what I wanna do. No one says nothin'. I moved out last year, but hit the skids. My Old Man paid for my bus ticket to come back home. I'm doing gigs now and a helluv a lot of sleepin'. It's awesome to be home, man!

Ted: Wish it would be the same for me. Well, I gotta go. See ya ...

Ned: Be cool man, don't let 'em get you down. That sucks man, that sucks!

Jill: MOM, I don't wanna go to the Board meeting again. It's really creepy. They ask me all kinds of weird questions. Sherrie says they think I'm hot or something. MOM, people are watching me ALL the time. I gotta get out of here!

*****

One co-op. Three kids. Two realities.

The Auditor's Onion Peel

Members are now in receipt of our Auditor's report and Financial Statements for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2008. These Financial Statements should have been presented in June of last year, however we've not had an All Members' Meeting since last Spring. The Auditor will now address the membership at our Annual General Members' Meeting on March 16, 2009. The highlights of the report are as follows:

• Vacancy losses - $63,741.
  
• Bad debts - $14,725.
• Member receivables - $30,221.
• Board of Directors Minutes missing from co-op binders; other minutes missing signatures
• Housing charge calculations and supporting documentation missing from the member files. The staff person was unable to locate these calculations
• CMHC and The Agency correspondence files missing
• Three Directors were in arrears while sitting on the Board of Directors
• Capital Reserves are depleted
  
• The co-op didn't obtain permission from The Agency when it spent money from its Replacement Reserves
• The co-op's insurance coverage is not adequate, including our public liability insurance

The auditor emphasized that the co-op is on the verge of being taken over by CMHC or by The Agency if we don't 'right the ship'. The auditor issued a 'Communication of Matters Identified During the Audit of the Financial Statements that identified significant weaknesses in internal controls, fraud, illegal acts or possible illegal acts.'

The auditor stated that the Board of Directors has a 'responsibility to its members to ensure the minutes are accurate, complete and properly processed in a timely manner.' Well, another year has gone by and Minutes are not published, no meetings have been held, no progress reports are issued, monthly Financial Statements have not been distributed to the general Membership, the Board is not transparent, and we'll have more vacancy losses due to all the units sitting empty.

So what happened to those missing Members' subsidy calculation files? Most certainly the files are in various Directors' units, because they've been doing the bizarre subsidy calculations, flagrantly violating Members' privacy rights in the process.

Window on Maintenance History

I was the Chairperson of the Maintenance Committee for three years. This was my first Annual Review in September, 1995.

*****

The Maintenance Committee has been up and running for one year and this gives us a chance to view our progress objectively, and hopefully feel a sense of accomplishment. At the same time we will review our individual roles on the Committee. I have prepared an overview of our accomplishments, which is kind of lengthy, but it provides a written account for the record.

Being on the Maintenance Committee has been a learning experience for all of us, and I am sure that we have come to know the co-op's maintenance needs quite intimately. I call her the 'Grand Old Lady', and we need to guide and protect her now and in the future. We should create a mission statement to ensure that she ages gracefully.

All our Co-ordinators' positions changed hands during the past year. I would like to thank the past co-ordinators for their contributions and I thank the new co-ordinators for accepting these challenges as the co-op could not function without committed volunteers. Each of these positions allows the co-ordinators to develop sub-committees which are very weighty unto themselves. Please use your imagination and creativity. This is how policies are made, by-laws created and work gets done ...

Last September we had to put into place, rather quickly, very essential contracts. They were the furnace and snow removal from roadways/roofs contracts. Last fall we paved potholes on our roads, and had 20 tons of pea stones delivered and hand-shovelled into the play park. In the springtime we had the roads power-swept, had our sanitary and storm sewers flushed and pumped out, our sump pumps inspected, as well as our fire hydrants serviced. We signed a contract with XXX to help us with our wasp and bee problems. We are in the process of receiving quotes for eavestroughing repairs.

We have repaired the inter-locking stones and driveways. We have revamped our parking lot signs and are redesignating our parking areas. We are also in the process of carpet replacement for approx. 60 bedrooms. Quotes are now being received for snow removal and the process of inspecting the co-op's furnaces will begin on September 25th.

We purchased 2 lawnmowers and a weedeater, established some precedents for equipment handling and are in the process of seeking professional advice concerning our lawns, trees and shrubs. We will also be looking at Site Plan alternatives. Our volunteers mowed the grass and kept the equipment running.

Basement repairs were done to two units. Our community hall has been painted. We had the 4 bdrm. porches repaired, the painting of Phase II exterior was completed and the fences & shed doors were painted in Phase I. The infamous fence between us and City Living was at long-last replaced at a cost of $2,000. (co-op's share). We are in the process of finishing the lawnmower shed, putting unit numbers on the backs of the units and shoring up the decks in Phase II. Some windows were replaced and four oak-parquet floors were refinished in Phase II.

We hired a permanent contract worker and we are very satisfied with his work. He has stocked up on things in the Maintenance Room like hosebibs, appliance parts, screening, closet tracks, etc. Our Routine Maintenance Co-ordinator did some repair work and offered advice as to the course of action we should take regarding other repairs. He is organizing mini-workshops on basic unit repairs to be held this fall.

We looked at the safety issues in the co-op such as following up on fire hydrant reports, inspection of fire extinguishers, emergency lighting, enlisting the help of the fire department, making sure that smoke detectors are hard wired.

We succeeded very well in the paper trail department. We created new forms such as our Maintenance Calendar, Maintenance Request Form, the Paint Waiver, the Clean up Check List, Paint Chit form, a sign-out sheet for lawnmower use, a key list, & possibly a new inspection sheet cover. We used the map of the co-op to determine security bar installation, toilet dams, sump pump locations, etc. We reviewed and revamped the Maintenance & Improvements By-law and we are in the process of updating our Maintenance Committee Handbooks with new information. We process work orders quite efficiently and are documenting external modifications to the units, i.e. fence additions, etc.

Work orders have been generated from previous Annual Inspections and we will begin organizing Annual Inspections soon. This year our office building will be included in the inspection process. We had the ducts cleaned out and will be signing a contract to have the central air-conditioning serviced yearly.

Through the process of property management in our Co-op we familiarized ourselves with the budgetary process, like it or not. We revamped our maintenance budget lines in order to pump up our Building Supplies & Contracted Painting lines & to include inter-locking brick repairs. We have established very good guidelines for next year's budget.

Projected work includes window/patio door replacement, some exterior painting, roof repairs, siding maintenance, & improved lighting in the co-op. We have looked at some long-term maintenance concerns, but fell short of establishing an active Long Range Planning Committee.

In all we have tried to make the process fair, have listened to our co-op neighbours and have tried to address their needs. The Maintenance Committee dealt with approximately 65 different issues at a given meeting. I am in the process of creating a Maintenance History file which will be a permanent record of our co-op's physical needs. I would like to thank all the co-ordinators for their contributions to make this committee work and hope that I, as Chairperson of the Maintenance Committee, have succeeded in creating a continuity and have established enough of a paper trail for succeeding chairpersons and Maintenance Committee members to act upon. That was my goal.

One extra note - the Maintenance Committee strives to handle complaints that come from members in an efficient manner. I wish that members could understand the scope of what the Maintenance Committee does. We are neighbours helping each other, each assuming equal responsibility for the upkeep of our Co-op.

Thank you.

*****

I co-chaired the Maintenance Committee twice thereafter. The Maintenance records either no longer exist or are wilfully ignored.

The Enquiry

The one-time encounter between myself and a previous Office Co-ordinator:

*****

Me: Hi there, I just want to hand in my housing charge cheque.

O/C: That's good - on time too! [We're never late!]

Me: Oh yeah, there's an outstanding issue on my file.

O/C: Well, there are 93 units in this co-op and you'll receive a letter. I'm sure that ODSP will pay your arrears.

Me: Arrears? What arrears?

O/C: Members just have to be patient. You'll receive a letter.

Me: OK, but all I want to know is what did you mean that ODSP will pay my arrears?

A woman walks in and asks the Office Co-ordinator a question.

O/C: There are 93 units in this co-op and I'll get to your request when it comes up.

The woman said, 'But, it's been going on for 2 years'.

O/C: People will just have to be patient.

As I was walking out, I still felt uneasy and asked the woman if I could have a moment with the Office Co-ordinator. The Office Co-ordinator then told the woman that it will take time to get back to her. The woman again stated, '... but I've been waiting for 2 years'.

The Office Co-ordinator closed the door and told me to sit down. She looked on the computer and said that I owed a balance of $XX. Then she corrected herself and said that I owed nothing. She stated to me that I should never again calculate my own housing charge - that I would have to pay what the co-op said I had to pay.

I told her that I couldn't get an answer out of the co-op - that I had never received a letter from the co-op. Then she got out my file and found a letter with the ODSP utility breakdowns.

Me: That's the problem - the utility breakdowns are what we actually pay. The previous Office Co-ordinator told me that the co-op wouldn't accept that - that it was unrealistic.

O/C: I don't want to hear anything more about what the previous Office Co-ordinator did or did not do.

Then she asked:

'And your question IS'?

I was dumbfounded.

Me: The previous Office Co-ordinator then told me that they were handing over my file to CMHC. For two years I've been handing in cheques monthly, because I've been waiting for an answer from CMHC. When I approached the previous Office Co-ordinator again about the progress of our file, she said that CMHC was in the process of offloading co-ops to a co-op agency.

The Office Co-ordinator then said that she knew what our subsidy would be in June - did I want to know it. She stated to me that our housing charge would be in the $XX range - that they were going to apply the same formula they apply in Phase II. That if I were to earn $XX mth. that would be OK. If I were to earn $XX mth., they'd take 30% of our gross income.

Me: ODSP already takes 50% of my earnings. If the co-op were to take an additional 30% off my earnings, I'd only make 20%.

O/C: OBVIOUSLY you don't understand what I'm saying.

Me: No, I'm actually quite smart. I understand full well what you're saying.

I got up to leave.

O/C: Now I want to make sure you understand what I'm saying, because I don't want people coming back week after week with more questions.

In order to be polite, as I was standing near the door, I tried to encapsulate our conversation, i.e. I owe no arrears; that she told me what our subsidy would be in June, etc.

Then the Office Co-ordinator looked squarely at me and said:

You know it's really hard to talk to you when you keep interrupting me.

At that point I replied:

DON'T you ever talk to me like that again - you are talking down to me.

I then turned around and walked out of the office.

*****

Frightening!

Subsidy Calculations - Part II

The Ontario Human Rights Commission in their report entitled Right at home: Report on the consultation on human rights and rental housing in Ontario, dated March 2, 2009, stated:

Iness v. Caroline Co-operative Homes Inc. (No.5), 2006 HRTO 19 (Can LII) (Iness). Ms. Iness was expected to pay the full shelter component of her social assistance as rent to her co-operative, instead of paying 25% of her income as rent, which she had done previously. As a result, she was no longer able to pay her insurance and hydro costs out of the shelter portion of her benefit, resulting in her having to cover these out of her basic living costs. The Tribunal found that Ms. Iness was treated differently from other low-income tenants, who were not on social assistance and were expected to pay a percentage of their income in rent.

The Human Rights Tribunal rules that Ms. Iness should be given full credit for her fuel and hydro costs, as well as a credit for her household insurance. She was awarded retroactive costs for same as well as compensation for her loss of dignity and respect while trying to rectify the situation.

Members on social assistance also underwent the same discrimination at that time and are still struggling today to receive full credit for their utility costs.

In 1996 our housing charge went up substantially even though our income had not changed. We noted on our subsidy breakdown form that we had not been given one of the credits to pay our heat and hydro, nor a credit for our household insurance. We, therefore, withheld $50. from our housing charge and pursued the matter further. In speaking with other subsidized members we found out that some people had not received any credits at all for quite some time.

Two years prior to this the co-op forced members on assistance to ask for the Maximum Shelter Allowance from their workers. The co-op was now not allowing ANY credits for utility costs. Members were being forced to pay their utility costs with their food money. This was nothing short of an illegal money grab from the most vulnerable members in the co-op. We sought advice from a lawyer and under pressure, the co-op begrudgingly gave only one-month credits back to members receiving social assistance.

The subsidy calculation for people on social assistance is as follows:

Occupants receiving welfare assistance or family benefits shall pay the shelter component of the welfare or family benefits payment or the amount required by the application of the total payment to the graduated occupancy charge scale, whichever is greater.

In our co-op, we've always paid the Shelter Component, not 25% of our total income. When we paid the Maximum Shelter Component with minimal deductions for our utilities, we actually paid more than 25% of our total income for our housing charges.

However, there's been yet another twist to this calculation. The co-op is now using as total income the GROSS amount ODSP would have paid the recipient without taking into account ODSP's deduction of 50% of the recipient's earnings. The co-op then revokes the recipient's housing subsidy because of this over-the-top 'fictitious' income.

I wrote to The Agency several weeks ago asking them for a sample calculation pertaining to my potential earnings in the upcoming year. My concerns are: (1) Will we lose our subsidy based on my estimated earnings? And (2) Will my husband have to go off ODSP in order for me to have earnings and retain a subsidy? To date I have received no reply to my request for information.

I do, however, have a question that The Agency might answer, and that is:

Should I, instead, divorce my husband in order for him to remain on ODSP and retain his housing subsidy, in light of my potential earnings?