The Uprising

Members finally received notification from our Board of Directors and that they have had enough.

The letter states:

For far too long we have heard nothing from our elected and appointed members of the Board of Directors. That is about to change. These pages are going to contain some startling facts, and information that we are facing over the next few months.

However, 3 of the 5 present Board members were the 'elected' members of previous Boards of Directors, so they are, in essence, condemning themselves. Are they not accountable for the lack of communication, the high arrears and the impenetrable support of the Office Co-ordinator, who rarely worked and left the administration in shambles?

The notice also states that the co-op and the property management company 'will part ways' and that an emergency plan will be put into place.

The notice continues ...

The Insolvency By-law, which expires on May 1, 2012, required the Board of Directors to consist of 7 members. We presently have 5 members on the Board. Our By-laws state that 9 members are required to constitute a Board of Directors; therefore, an election will be held in May to ramp up the required numbers.

The notice states that our bookkeeper has made mistakes. The external Board of Directors specifically exclaimed that they were there to ensure good financial management would be in effect; that they were not there to foster a positive social environment. The Board of Directors disastrously failed on those two fronts.

The Board of Directors has hired CHASEO to review our By-laws to bring them into compliance with the Co-operative Corporations Act, The Persons With Disabilities Act, and the Human Rights Code. It is ridiculous for each co-op to 'hire' CHASEO to review their by-laws, when it should be incumbent on The Agency (which receives millions of dollars each year to oversee the housing co-operative movement) to notify and provide co-ops with legally vetted documents in this regard.

It appears that we've had one gigantic sleep over in the co-op in that 19 members did not pay their housing charges in March, 2012. They will be invited to a Board of Directors meeting to discuss their continued membership in the co-op.

Will the Big Snooze soon be over? These and other financial matters will be addressed in the months to come. Stay tuned!