Mountain View Seniors' Housing will undergo a major shift in governance if member municipalities sign off on a new corporate model endorsed by the board at its Sept. 22 meeting.The new structure would allow the board to eliminate the annual requisition from municipalities ñ worth about $507,000 of the board's $8-million budget in recent years ñ and change the makeup of the board to include professionals with relevant experience, CAO Sam Smalldon said at the meeting, held at Aspen Ridge Lodge in Didsbury.ìThere would be no requisitioning under the model. It would allow the board to bring in expertise. It would allow staggered terms and provide stable governance,î Smalldon said.The decision to move to a not-fot-profit corporation came after more than a year of discussions, board chairman Sheldon Ball pointed out, noting that the new model would not be funded by municipal property taxes but would continue to provide a high level of support for local seniors.After looking at various options suggested by municipal CAOs and conferring with a legal expert, Smalldon said, it was determined that the structure ìwith the most latitude, the most flexibility Ö was incorporation as not for profit.îAmong board members, Reeve Paddy Munro expressed reservations about adopting the new governance model without knowing the board's makeup.ìIf it's volunteers I don't support that,î Munro said. ìBut if it means bringing in a doctor, lawyer, accountant, engineer, and if we have to pay them something fair, I'm OK with that. I would like to know the package before I make the commitment.îSmalldon said a nomination committee would recommend board appointments and the new system would not jeopardize any municipal stakeholders.ìIf we don't requisition, how much do you expect rates to go up?î Munro asked.The board has limitations on rates that are subsidized by the province, Smalldon said. Instead of increasing rates, the board would look to find efficiencies and take on more projects that generate funds to reinvest in other parts of the operation. Municipal funding won't be eliminated overnight, he added, but could be phased out over a period of four to five years.ìIn a worst-case scenario,î Munro asked him, ìyou're not with us, the board goes sideways ñ how are we protected?îìThe stakeholders could pull the pin on the existing board and replace it,î Smalldon said. ìThere would be no loss of ownership, no loss of control, no loss of accountability.îSmalldon said the housing authority has been moving toward a more efficient and expansive operation ñ the life-lease seniors' housing project in Olds, currently under construction, being an example of this ìchange in missionî ñ and is now ìready to take the next step.îAnother example, approved by the board at the same meeting, was the appointment of a director of lodge operations, increasing an existing 0.4 full-time-equivalent position to a 0.8 FTE position. The director will oversee and co-ordinate operations at all four lodges under the board's authority, finding cost savings through volume purchases and other means.Becoming a corporation ìdoesn't mean we operate with a profit motive at all,î Smalldon said.After further discussion, the board unanimously approved recommending the new governance model to its six member municipalities ñ MVC, Olds, Didsbury, Sundre, Carstairs and Cremona. It is expected to come back to the board for ratification later this month.And at Smalldon's suggestion, Sundre mayor Annette Clews moved to have the chair send a letter to each municipality requesting board appointments remain the same for the duration of their three-year terms that began in October 2010.The regular turnover of members, especially after municipal elections, was one of the problems identified with the current all-council board makeup.
