RING RING

Me:
Hello ...

Co-op's President:
Hi B., it's __. Did you know that you are in arrears for $l,060.00?

Me:
We're in arrears? For what?

Co-op President:
Arrears of Housing Charges . . . but don't worry the Board will waive your arrears.

That conversation happened in May, 2007. Now here's the background to our fictitious arrears. In July, 2005 we had requested a breakdown of the Shelter Component variables from ODSP. ODSP informed us in writing that ... "There are no specific components (breakdowns) like you were requesting on your letter". ODSP gave us a maximum of $729.00 for rent and utilities. They didn't give a whit about how it was broken down.

I, therefore, wrote the co-op informing them of this fact and submitted a cheque to them for our housing charge. Instead of submitting three or six post-dated cheques to the co-op, I dropped off a cheque for each month fully believing that the co-op would provide us with a subsidy confirmation. At one point I asked the Office Co-ordinator if our subsidy had been verified, she stated that it had been handed over to CMHC. Again we waited. Unbeknownst to us, the Office Co-ordinator had been putting us in arrears, but never informed us in writing, or otherwise.

And then came the phone call - two years later!

Well, the same thing seems to be happening again. I've been calculating our housing charge for Three (3) months now in light of the fact that our source of income has changed and the co-op has not yet recalculated our subsidy. Not to worry though. The Office Co-ordinator has just advised me that subsidies will be recalculated effective April 1st and if there's a credit, we will be credited, if there is a shortfall, the Office Co-ordinator's stance is that it should be waived.

I just hope the phone doesn't ring.

Warmth

I developed Achilles Tendinitis in both feet during our move to this unit and it has worsened over the past two months. I am undergoing physio therapy and must rest my feet. It's a perfect time to quilt and plan for my next quilt. Creativity warms the insides and is a wonderful renewal project. What a beautiful thing to do on such a chilly day.

Inequities

There is a rationale behind my blogs, albeit a frustrating one. There is nowhere for members to turn to for help, so I write. Our community legal clinic won't represent members, because co-ops are supposedly democratic entities and any problems incurred should, therefore, be dealt with by our Boards of Directors. Legal Aid only funds criminal, immigration and family law - no civil suits. With new eviction legislation coming on stream in the co-op sector, members' rights will be non-existent. I've coined this 'Turnstile Evictions' - it will just be a case of rubber stamping eviction notices. No need for appeals by members, no costly legal suits for co-ops to contend with. When I write my blog, I use my own personal experiences, but in essence, my blog also conveys what other people are going through in this co-op.

Most particularly grating is the fact that some subsidized members are paying over 50% of their income for their housing charges and that doesn't include utilities. It doesn't matter how outrageously wrong a subsidy has been calculated, the Board of Directors is always right. A Board of Directors will never admit that it has erred or has acted inappropriately, there's no need to, because there is no accountability requirement to do so.

Our co-op used to be the bedroom community for the co-op sector's movers and shakers; that is until they earned enough money to buy their own homes. The Co-operative Housing Federation of Canada (CHF) and their ilk have very secure funding with virtually no oversight. CMHC has downloaded Federal co-ops in PEI, Ontario, Alberta and B.C. to The Agency for Co-operative Housing (The Agency). These employees take care of each other, often moving from branch to branch. Office Co-ordinators are rarely fired, they are merely transferred to other co-ops, so they too are very secure in their jobs. The co-op movement is a pyramid-type arrangement - those at the top of the heap set their lucrative salaries and then there are the very well paid Office Co-ordinators, (now elevated to the status of Property Managers). 'Property Managers' and the term 'Good Governance' are synonymous with each other. The co-op sector proclaims that they only hire the best and this establishes the sector as being credible at the local, provincial and federal levels of government. It's a rather incestuous affair to say the least - and virtually impenetrable.

The Board of Directors is the next level down. Board members very often receive special perks, such as unit modifications or transfers, with subsidies, to other co-ops. If you are on a Board of Directors, you are safe from persecution. If you are not on the Board, you are extremely vulnerable. Board members, without conscience, have attempted to evict members for the same reasons they themselves once contested.

Members are at the bottom of the heap. I once read Dr. Seuss' Yertle The Turtle to Board Members. Here's an extract from the Wikipedia article:

The titular story revolves around a Yertle the Turtle, the king of the pond. Unsatisfied with the stone that serves as his throne, he commands the other turtles to stack themselves beneath him so that he can see further and expand his kingdom. However, the stacked turtles are in pain and Mack, the turtle at the very bottom of the pile, is suffering the most. Mack asks Yertle for a respite, but Yertle just tells him to shut up. Then Yertle decides to expand his kingdom and commands more and more turtles to add to his throne. Mack makes a second request for a respite because the increased weight is now causing extreme pain to the turtles at the bottom of the pile. Again Yertle yells at Mack to shut up. Then Yertle notices the moon rising above him as the night approaches. Furious that something "dares to be higher than Yertle the King", he decides to call for even more turtles in an attempt to rise above it. However, before he can give the command, Mack decides he has had enough. He burps, shaking the stack of turtles and tossing Yertle off into the mud, leaving him "King of the Mud" and freeing the others.

Members are the peons, without power and most often, without a voice, even though they are co-owners of their co-ops. It's how you play the game in co-op living that is the reality. And that is not democratic, nor is it equitable.

$98,019.00

Financial Statements generally are difficult to decipher for many of us. In the past maintenance budget lines were clearly delineated. One could see at a glance what we were paying for new flooring, interior painting, etc. Included in that budget were our maintenance contractor's fees. We've only had one staff member over the years and that was (is) the Office Co-ordinator. So, it came as a shock to me to see that $98,019.00 was budgeted for 'Salaries and benefits' for 2010. What on earth does this mean? Is this the Office Co-ordinator's salary, or are our maintenance contractor's fees included in this figure? A figure of $135,229 is budgeted under 'Maintenance - grounds and units'. What does this cover? Are the maintenance contractor's fees included in this line? Flooring, appliances and furnaces are included under Capital Expenses. Are we, therefore, paying $135,229.00 solely for our maintenance man's fees? If so, the $98,019.00 would be the Office Co-ordinator's salary. There are other veiled entries in the Financial Statements. Members will never know, for instance, where the budget line is for the numerous long distance taxi fares our Office Co-ordinator incurs.

What is clear is our Vacancy Loss for 2010 - $80,035.00, down from $122,196.00 for 2009. Perhaps some of that $98,019.00 should be re-allocated to repair units, in order to cut our vacancy losses.

Timeline

The office distributed a newsletter simply dated 'November' to the members, wherein we were notified that our water heaters would be replaced from January 3rd, 2011 to January 24th, 2011. No details were provided to the members as to the rental costs, contract details or the EnerGuide ratings of these water heaters.

I emailed the office on November 19th informing the co-op that water heater rentals had nothing whatsoever to do with the co-op; that it was a private arrangement between Direct Energy and the individual members and that the co-op does not keep records in this regard. I emailed the office again on November 22nd informing them of the door-to-door scams reported on the news, whereby people ended up paying triple their rental costs and a $1200. fee to the new contractor if they wanted to opt out of the contract.

Apparently, this instigated a few emails back and forth between our outside Board member and the new contractor. On November 23rd the contractor emailed the Board member addressing some of her concerns (rental costs, contracts, etc.). This is clear evidence that the Board of Directors had not done any research at all prior to hiring the new contractors. It was only after my emails and feedback from irate members did the Board of Directors begin to negotiate and confirm with the contractor the details of the contract. And guess what? Miraculously, the rental rate came in $1.00 under what the members are presently paying to their present contractor. Pretty sneaky management on the part of our Board of Directors. From now on we shall rightfully refer to them as the 'Teflon Board'.

We Know What's Best - GODDAMMIT!

Notice from Office:

OUR CONTRACTOR, _____, HAS COMMENCED WATER HEATER REPLACEMENTS AND HAS ENCOUNTERED DIFFICULTIES WITH MEMBERS INDICATING THEY WERE NOT AWARE THIS WAS OCCURRING AND QUESTIONING THE REASONING BEHIND THE BOARD'S DECISION TO IMPLEMENT SAME.

INCLUDED IN THIS NOTICE ARE EXCERPTS FROM THE LETTER OF PROPOSAL WHICH WAS FULLY AND CAREFULLY CONSIDERED BY YOUR BOARD IN MAKING THIS DECISION FOR THE BETTERMENT OF THE CO-OP AND MEMBERS.

The housing co-operative has never had anything to do with members' water heaters since the inception of this co-op. The contract is between the members and Enbridge Gas and now Direct Energy. If one were to encounter water leakage, or rusty water from their tank, they'd call Enbridge or Direct Energy and have their water heater replaced - for free. No records have ever been kept by the co-op with regards to the replacement of these water heaters.

Dozens of water heaters have been changed in this co-op, some as recently as last month. Ours was changed two years ago and then the unit sat empty for over a year. The competitor company which has garnered the contract with our co-op has vouched that they will return members' current hot water tanks to Direct Energy. Really? How environmentally friendly is it to remove a water heater with the same EnerGuide rating as the one this company is installing and what is really happening with the tanks they're removing?

The co-op has not provided a detailed schedule to the members for water heater replacement and seeing that the co-op has also provided keys to these contractors, they can enter units willy-nilly. Some members have large dogs and this poses a danger to the contractors. Conversely, with the doors left wide open to allow for passage of these water heaters, family pets will be let loose. Members have not been consulted about the bulk removal of our water heaters, nor have they been shown any respect or consideration as to the process involved.

This sudden 'caring' on the part of the co-op management for its members' well-being is rather suspicious. For the most part correspondence with the office is rarely acknowledged, work order repairs in units are non-existent, if you are locked out, or have a flood in your basement, you are on your own. So why now? Is the co-op getting a kickback from the company, or a tax credit of some kind? The co-op is forcing members to sign up with a contractor not of their choice and any benefit accruing from same will not go to the members.

We have said 'NO' to having our hot water heater replaced and BRAVO to other members who are also speaking up.