The Switch

A part of the history of this co-op not to be forgotten:

A previous Office Co-ordinator assigned a 2-bedroom unit in Phase II of this co-op to a member. The member was in the process of cleaning the unit, when the Office Co-ordinator informed her that she had changed her mind and was going to rent the unit to someone else. The Office Co-ordinator then assigned her a 2-bedroom unit in Phase I. The excuse was that a single person could not occupy a 2-bedroom in Phase II. We have no 1-bedroom units in this co-op. This sounded absolutely preposterous and so we began to investigate. The Ministry of Housing's half-hearted response to my letter was that it would make better use of the housing stock. I wrote back and said how could this be in light of the fact that the co-op was transferring a member from a 2-bedroom unit to a 2-bedroom unit, incurring maintenance costs as well. To substantiate her first decision, the Office Co-ordinator took it upon herself to transfer two other single member households from 2-bedroom units in Phase II to 2-bedroom units in Phase I. In order to placate one member, the Office Co-ordinator had the unit in Phase I upgraded with new linoleum and thickly padded wall-to-wall carpeting. After the switching of these units, the Office Co-ordinator produced a letter to the Board of Directors indicating that she was so stressed out she could no longer work and demanded a $40,000. buy out. The Board of Directors promptly agreed and immediately issued her a $40,000. cheque without the consent of the membership.

The ink had barely dried on the cheque when the Office Co-ordinator started her new job at another co-op the following week. The President of the co-op shortly thereafter bought a house and moved out.

A new Board member soon after found documentation in the office which confirmed our assertion that the transferring of members from a 2-bedroom unit in Phase II to a 2-bedroom unit in Phase I had been a scam from the start - a contrivance by the Office Co-ordinator to give the 2-bedroom unit in Phase II to a 'preferred' member.

Single people are once again peacefully occupying 2-bedroom units in Phase II. The corruption on the part of the Office Co-ordinator and the Board member has never been resolved. My husband, who sat on the new Board of Directors, was advised by a lawyer that it would cost the co-op more to pursue reclaiming the money from the Office Co-ordinator than the buy out itself. The matter was dropped.

Housing Charge Assistance Renewal

Our letter to the Office Co-ordinator & Board of Directors:

_____

Enclosed please find our Housing Charge Assistance Renewal Application, Family Composition & Income Verification Housing Charge Supplement and Service Canada documents regarding our income.

I would like to point out the following:

1. A question on the Family Composition & Income Verification Housing Charge Supplement asks whether the member has over $2,000.00 in their bank account. If we had more than $2,000.00 in our bank account, would we be denied a subsidy? If so, and here is the crucial point, what is the legislation governing your demand? How would you know if we had over $2,000.00 in our bank account? We’re certainly not giving you permission to peer into our bank account.

2. You have failed once again to provide members requiring a subsidy a list of Exemptions - money NOT TO BE INCLUDED as income. This knowledge is vital for subsidized members to secure their rights.

3. ‘Social Assistance Recipients must submit copies of FBA/GWA Profile (Benefits Statement) and dental/medical cards as they indicate the number of household residents’. Family Benefits was disbanded in 1998. The drug card does NOT indicate how many people are in the household. All the drug card does is indicate how many people are on the drug card. When a child turns 18 yrs. old, they no longer receive a drug card, but can remain on the benefit unit. Please update the co-op’s forms as previously requested by our lawyer.

4. Members on ODSP/OW are paying over 50% of their income for their housing charge. This does not include their utilities. We are now in receipt of OAS, receive approximately $600.00 more each month, and we pay less in housing charges.*

Please provide us with a copy of the legislation you are using to administer housing charge assistance.

Yours truly,

_____

* The co-op is deliberately pilfering the pockets of those on ODSP/OW. If the member falls into arrears, social services will pick up the tab - no questions asked. A perfect scam!

The Key

At last we received a key for the Office Bldg., so that we might have access to the washer/dryer. We had emailed the Office Co-ordinator on February 9th and again yesterday, February 16th, requesting same. This is in addition to asking for a key last summer.

The co-op is owned by the members. The washers and dryers belong to the members. Using the washers and dryers brings money into the co-op coffers. Why had our previous requests been ignored? It is so strange to have been denied access to the Office Bldg., in light of the fact that I was Chairperson of the Maintenance Committee for 3 years, co-chair for 2 years, was the Secretary of the Maintenance Committee prior to these posts, was the Secretary of the Finance Committee for a time, was the Unit Inspection Co-ordinator for many years and did a stint as a Board Member. I've done thousands of unit inspections, met with dozens of contractors, in fact, I did most of the Office Co-ordinator's job. I practically lived in the Office Bldg. Is receiving the key progress in our attempts to communicate with the office? We'll see.

MOVE!

Last year at the All Members Meeting, before the semi-take over of our co-op, a member passionately expressed his opinion about the well-being of members. The representative of The Agency looked at this man and said, 'Perhaps a co-op isn't for you'. This representative was put in her place by another member of this co-op, who responded by emphatically stating that this member will be here long after the representative of The Agency. Since then members have been told by the outside Board members to 'move out'. Is not a co-op 'for the members and by the members'? How did co-op living get so twisted?

Where to move to? For subsidized members, a move is next to impossible as The Registry's waiting list is over a decade long. I'd like to explore this topic in more depth. I've been busy lately with other matters, but what is apparent is that the dysfunction in housing co-ops lies with The Agency and trickles down to the local co-operative agencies. Members will move out on their own accord - not as a result of being bullied.

Omissions & Exceptions

Subsidized members received their renewal applications for Housing Charge Assistance and as usual, a list of exemption income was not included. Members receiving the same source of income have been (and are) assessed differently. This is Omission by Design. The co-op consistently, and knowingly, overcharges subsidized members.

By the same token members also received a fact sheet to update their files. The information requested includes whether or not a member has a second parking space. A member's large, unsightly wooden trailer chock-a-block full of garbage, however, will continue to grace his driveway, as will his SUV, which is now parked on the roadway - a fire lane. This is an Exception by Design.

Omissions & Exceptions . . .

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.