The Rap

Well, this is cute. We just came back from a Board meeting with nothing resolved with regards to our co-op subsidy. My husband met the Office Co-ordinator earlier today and she assured him the working poor were being hit harder than those on ODSP. That would lead me to believe that they would be paying something like 60% of their income for their housing charge (rent). But no, they'll be paying 35% of their income for rent, which is either the same as they've been paying all along or a 5% increase.

We were assured that the Board* has the calculations down pat this time, that we should accept the fact that there is a 'real world' out there, and that people pay utilities. I live in the 'real world'. The co-op is taking our utility money!! They pretended to know nothing about the Human Rights Tribunal decision, Iness v. Caroline Co-operative Homes Inc. (No.5), 2006 HRTO 19 (Can LII) (Iness) and CHF's Bulletin - Section 95 (56.1) Housing Co-operatives, dated October, 2008, instructing co-ops to abide by the Tribunal's decision allowing members full credit for their utilities within their Shelter Allowance.

An ODSP benefit unit consisting of 2 people receive a maximum Shelter Allowance of $714. A single person receives a maximum Shelter Allowance of $454. Our housing charge is going up to $645., which forces us to take $181. out of our Basic Allowance to pay for utilities. The single person ends up with a surplus of $250., - well within their Shelter Allowance to pay for all their utilities. What kind of calculation is that? The Board knows darn well about the Human Rights Tribunal Decision, but is choosing to ignore it.

The Board still insists that they'll need our drug card, because the 'law' requires them to. Our lawyer confirmed with the Privacy Commissioner's Office that this request violates the privacy laws and offered to amend the co-op's documents. I told them that when kids reach 18 yrs. old, they no longer receive drug benefits, but can remain on the benefit unit. Also if I was in a 'step-out program', not receiving any ODSP, I could still receive a drug card. I could also choose not to have a drug card or a child of mine could be covered under another drug plan. Didn't matter. They kept insisting that the drug card would confirm to them how many people are on the benefit unit. Do you throw your hands up in the air when confronted with such stupidity? This confirms to me once again that they haven't got the slightest notion of what they are doing. They also stated that they're not interested in anyone not on the drug card. What does that mean?

We were asked what size unit we were in. I said 3 people in a 4-bdrm. unit. They said that we need to downsize. Interesting point - except for our medical letter on file and the fact that the co-op newsletter stated that there'll be no internal transfers to save costs of revamping units. Why didn't the Board member know about this? It would cost $10,000. to revamp this unit, plus the unit we would move into would also need to be refurbished. For health reasons the unit would have to have new windows, laminate flooring, the heat vents cleaned out and not a trace of mold throughout. The co-op is renting out units, which we know have mold issues and the co-op is not informing the new members about this problem upon move in.

The first line of sight for a person wanting to rent here is the disgusting state of the co-op office building.** With weeds three feet high, who would want to live here? Why not instead go with a part-time Office Co-ordinator, - pay for the hours worked - save over $30,000., pay for a landscaping company to spruce up the office area and redo the floors and whatever it takes to revamp the office. It boggles my mind that this has not been done.

We were given some jargon about how co-ops work. My husband developed co-ops 25 years ago. Believe me - he knows co-ops. We had a 'what-if' conversation awhile ago. What if our co-op had been taken over by a drug cartel? How would we get the attention of CHASEO, CHF or The Agency, when the constant spiel is:

Your Board is working very hard and should be commended for their work. If you have a problem with your Board, you could change it. You're the ones who elected them.

But what got my dander up was the comment by the outside Board member that our subsidy was not an 'entitlement'. I replied that entitlements to my mind are the bonuses of mega-wealthy CEO's and egotistical politicians, e.g. 'I'm entitled to my entitlements', - MP David Dingwall and certain Office Co-ordinators. The co-op movement's mandate is to provide affordable housing, including subsidies. We need not grovel at the feet of people who make extremely high wages within the co-op sector. Without us, they'd have no jobs.

Problems have arisen in co-ops, but you'll have difficulty finding anything about them on the web. I did find one case of fraud in a London, Ontario co-op. Here's a link to that site:

http://www.lfpress.ca/cgi-bin/publish.cgi?p=218045&s=homes

The co-op sector did damage control by stating that everything was going to be alright, because they were bringing in an outside Board.

Co-ops have been in business for 30-40 years and they still don't know how subsidies work? Every year their formula changes, but they always insist that it's the right one they're using. Their letter to us dated August 31, 2009 stated that the reason why the housing charge was going up was because our co-op was in a deficit situation. What does that have to do with a formula? They then went on to say that the real reason is that they have to comply with 'recently set government guidelines dealing with the new allowable amounts for shelter . . .' It was no news to us that what the co-op was referring to was the Federal 56.1 program, which has been in place since the inception of this co-op. What a bunch of hogwash.

The reason why we have no subsidy monies is because the co-op used that money to pay outstanding bills incurred by the previous Board. There is no onus on an accountant to connect the dots on whose units the money was spent; therefore, no accountability.

I do not see any improvement in this co-op since the new Board took over. There were weeks in the summer time when no one was in the office at all. There was no newsletter distributed by the office as to why it was closed, no emergency phone numbers to call, the telephone voice mail was full. For all intents and purposes, the co-op was abandoned. I am not impressed with this new management style. This is 'Good Governance' at its worst.

________________

* The three outside Board members. The two in-house Board members abstained.

** Volunteers worked very hard this weekend cleaning and scrubbing the co-op office building for my daughter's baby shower. I thank them so much for that. My above statement relates to how it looked before they cleaned it up.

Taxi Tribulations

We took a taxi home from the train station late last night. When we turned into the co-op, I told the driver that our house was at the first intersection, whereupon he began to turn into City Living where our fence had been knocked down by the snow removal contractor. I said, 'Oh, not here! That's a downed fence. Our co-op is just about bankrupt - the place is a real mess. Nothing gets fixed.'

He said, 'This is Ottawa Housing, right?'

I said, 'Nope - this is a 'CO-OP'. Have you ever heard of co-ops?'

Skeptically, he kept driving, eerily looking around him and he never did answer my question.

After I paid our fare, I told the cabbie that he'd have to turn around and drive out the same way he drove in - that there was no other way out. I think he was relieved to know that he need not go any deeper into this dark and somewhat foreboding place.

Subsidy Calculations - Part IV

We received notification today that our housing charge will be doubled commencing October 31st, 2009. The letter stated that the reason for this is because our co-op is running a deficit and that our subsidy funds had run out. However, the letter then contradicts itself and says the reason is because of new government rules, as follows:

In regards to the recently set government guidelines dealing with the new allowable amount for shelter, the Board is now required to implement these amounts when calculating the minimum housing charge. The minimum housing charge allowance is the shelter component that would be given to a household if they were on the Ontario Works program.

What kind of mumble-jumble is this? What government guidelines? The letter then graciously instructs ODSP recipients not to forget to give copies of our utility bills to ODSP in order to ensure that we receive the maximum shelter component.

A Bulletin from CHF dated October, 2008 detailed a ruling from The Human Rights Tribunal in which a complainant stated that her co-op was only allowing her a partial credit for her utilities. The HRC ruling stated that the co-op must allow the member full credit for her utility costs within the Shelter Allowance allotted to her by ODSP.

So let's do the math in our current situation. Our Maximum ODSP Shelter Allowance is $714.00. The co-op is raising our housing charge to $645.00 (based on what, I do not know). Our utility bills add up to approx. $250.00 per month, which will bring our total housing costs to $895.00. So that will mean that we'll have to take $181.00 out of our food money to pay for our housing costs. In addition to that, the co-op is not allowing a $16.00 credit for household insurance.

The co-op is in direct violation of the Human Rights Tribunal decision, Iness v. Caroline Co-operative Homes Inc. (No.5), 2006 HRTO 19 (Can LII) (Iness) and their own bulletin in the matter.

If there was ever a case of the co-op 'robbing Peter to pay Paul', this is it! And it's on the backs of the most vulnerable.

The Tree

Homage to a Tree

The leaves glistened and danced merrily in the wind
Sunlight had reawakened their spirit
And they embraced the blue sky
As only lovers can


Oh, Wait - This tree HAS no leaves!


The branches outstretched their souls
To the night sky
Knowing what we know not
And so protected us


Oh, Wait - This tree HAS no branches!

The slender leaves trembled and shook
As though awaiting rejection by a scorned lover
The branches which once gave them life
Breathed their last breath
A mournful cry filled the night sky
And then fell

SILENCE

*****

I spoke to a tree maintenance fellow in the project next door and asked why the tree was being cut down. He said he thinks that it was cracked. I asked if they were going to leave it like that and he said for a few days. I can see no crack in the tree.

A Tad Familiar?

The original version - 1942:





The version I learned as a kid:

Oh, I had a little turkey
And it wouldn't lay an egg
So I poured hot water up and down its leg
And the little turkey cried
And the little turkey begged
And the little turkey
Laid a hard-boiled egg

*****

My husband said, 'Oh, soooo cruel'. And I said, 'I know, but I keep singing it every ten seconds when that truck comes by'. Winter does have its blessings . . .

$5,000,000.00 Town Hall Meeting

OK, listen up everyone. We've called this town hall meeting because we've just won $5,000,000. and we want to fix this place up.

(Loud Rahs Rahs and Cheers from members)

OK - any suggestions as to how we should spend this money? No. 10, then 24, then 6.

'Fences - I think we should begin by fixing up the exterior. It wouldn't cost that much and the unit fences are a real mess.'

Good suggestion, #24?

'Windows and doors.'

Excellent point - we all know about leaky, moldy windows - #6?

'Kitchen counters.'

OK, but let's just deal with the exterior of the co-op for the moment. Any more suggestions? Numbers 89, 5, 17.

'The 2-bedroom units have no sheds and it's hard to lug our recycling boxes and garbage to the front of the units. That's why we sometimes keep them beside our steps.'

Good point - maybe we can look at a different recycling model for the 2-bedrooms - #5?

'The driveways need to be repaved. A lot of them have depressions or cracks and are growing weeds. Too bad we can't relocate parking. There's no room to walk.'

YUP, that was bad planning on the part of the architect. Don't know if we could change that now though - #17?

'Seeing that we have some money now, maybe we could bring in a landscaping company to put new sod throughout the co-op. I know that the volunteers who mow the common grounds work very hard, but there's a lot of grass out there. Maybe we could hire a landscaping company to come in and do the work for a few years.'

OK - I could see that happening. Any more suggestions? Numbers 32, 64, 28.

'If we get new windows and doors, can we get the wood trim painted?'

Now that's a very good idea - #64?

'Our chain-link fencing - what a mess. We fix it up one year and the snow removal companies knock it down. Could we put in stronger fencing?'

Most probably and it would look great to get our fences upright again - #28?

'Our siding is terrible. I heard that there's mold underneath and it's even inside the units now. It's been suggested that we get our siding changed.'

Now that would be big job. But we'll definitely have to look into that one for health reasons. Any more suggestions? Numbers 3, 47, 15.

'The decks in Phase II are rotten and pulling away from the units. We need to get them fixed.'

We could look at replacing the long decks with porches and steps and having patio stones installed. That would be neat - #47?

'I was going to say revamping the play park, but I also want to add that Phase I's porches are rotten and rickety. Plus we should check out the concrete steps outside the patio doors.'

For sure - we'll do them all - #15?

'We need to establish good snow removal sites, or have the snow hauled away. It's an eyesore having a permanent rock platform created where landscaping used to be. How stupid is that?'

YUP, certain things have happened without any thought whatsoever. Well, that's pretty good for starters. Any suggestions for indoor renovations? Numbers 55, 21, 13.

'Number 55 here - Sorry, I just want to say one more thing about the exterior of the co-op. We need to look at all the balconies. A few balconies were renovated because of wood rot. Surely, the other balconies also have wood rot, so we need to change them all, not just a few.'

Right! If there's wood rot in one, you can bet it's in others too. Very good point - #21?

'I was going to say that we should replace the fridges and stoves that haven't been changed, but I also wanted to say that we have carpenter ants chewing away at the wood foundation. Big problem!'

And we all fall down, right? OK - no joking here. Yes, it's a big problem. We'll have to get that assessed as soon as possible. We'll also take an inventory of the fridges and stoves and try to find the records - as difficult as that may be - #13?

'Phew - thought I'd never get my turn. I want to talk about flooring. I think it's a good idea to go with laminate flooring as it is much more sanitary than carpeting. Plus, it's wise to invest in good linoleum. It doesn't rip as easily and retains it's finish.'

So, that's pretty exciting, eh, to see renovations being done inside the units? Any more suggestions? Numbers 93, 18, 37.

'The bathroom flooring also needs to be looked at and the shower walls. How solid are the floors and what's the mold situation?'

We've already done a few units. For sure shower walls aren't forever.

'And we need to change sinks and bathtubs, too, if there's rust or the finish is gone.'

Good points - #18?

'I'm tired of freezing in my place. I don't think that there's much insulation in my walls. Can anything be done about this?'

You know, we've heard this over and over again. I wonder how this place ever passed the building codes at the time. We're going to have to knock out a few walls and re-insulate if necessary - #37?

'The sliding cupboards and tracks are getting quite old. The tracks are rusty. Is there a better product out there?'

I'm sure our sliding cupboards are getting rather tired looking. We'll check out new products. So, what do you say everyone? Did we get a good start on everything? What about we start with these issues and we'll have more meetings to see how we're progressing. So, how does everyone feel - HAPPY?

Tons of clapping and laughter and

Good Cheer

*****

We can dream, eh?

Ten Tips For Survival

1. When the thunder and lightening storms hit, duck for cover. The basement is preferable.
2. If your basement is flooded, put your bathing suit on and enjoy the SPLASH.
3. If the roads flood, hitch a ride on your neighbour's leisure craft.
4. If you have any emergency repairs in your unit, call on your friends or your friends' friends.
5. If you have any questions about co-op living, find the answers on line.
6. If your friends would like an application to live here, photocopy an old application and delete all previous information.
7. If you're not sure if anyone is cashing your housing charge (rent) cheques, don't overspend just in case.
8. If you're moving out of the co-op, drop your keys into your mailbox.
9. If you get locked out of your unit, sleep at your old address.
10. And lastly, if you don't know where you are anymore, Google your address, click on 'Maps' and you should be fine.

HAVE A HAPPY DAY!