OLDS — Olds councillor and Mountain View Seniors' Housing (MVSH) chair Heather Ryan defended MVSH’s 15 per cent hike in its requisition during town council’s Nov. 14 meeting.
In an email, Brent Williams, the town’s chief administrative officer, said that figure will actually rise 17.5 per cent in 2023 or $95,594, a tax increase of about one per cent for town residents.
Requisitions are contributions from the town required by certain organizations. The town has no say in those amounts and must pay them as requested.
Mountain View Seniors' Housing issued a news release quoting Ryan and MVSH chief administrative officer Stacey Stlling on the matter on Nov. 16.
“The MVSH board inherently understands at the end of the day there is only one taxpayer. However, given challenges of both decreasing revenue due to lodge vacancies as a result of COVID, and increasing inflationary pressures, tough decisions had to be made,” the release said.
The release said the decision to increase the requisition as much as it did was not taken lightly and many meetings were held on the matter.
"We understand that it’s a bitter pill to swallow,” Ryan said during council’s discussion.
The news release said the increase is due largely to inflation and increased insurance costs for the organization, adding that food costs rose by 15 per cent to more than $100,000 and insurance costs premiums increased 42 per cent to $80,000.
It also said MVSH, like other seniors’ housing organizations, has found that since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, seniors have been slow to move into MVSH facilities.
That has led to “high vacancy rates” and a loss of revenue of more than $100,000 a month. However, the release said occupancy is beginning to rise again.
MVSH has also found it challenging to recruit and retain staff and be “competitive with wages,” the release said.
Ryan said wages are also expected to rise, noting MVSH deals with two unions.
“Just having those three things increasing means that we need to increase the budget to cover those expenses, rather than going into deficit budgeting,” she told councillors.
Ryan noted the town and residents themselves are also dealing with inflationary pressures.
Coun. Darren Wilson asked what the history of MVSH requisitions has been over the past several years.
Ryan said they have not increased in the past two or perhaps three years and actually went down slightly last year (2.69 per cent).
She said there was a significant increase in MVSH requisition in about 2018 “but that also was due to a number of outside influences that were totally beyond the control of the Mountain View Seniors' Housing board.”
Williams said in 2022, the requisition decreased by 2.65 per cent. In 2020, it increased by 2.6 per cent, “so essentially a wash in the last two years.”
He said going back beyond 2020, increases in MVSH ranged from anywhere from a 51 per cent increase to a 4.7 per cent increase.
Wilson asked what MVSH is doing to keep requisitions as low as possible.
Ryan said they’ve worked with their insurance provider to keep costs down. They’re also working with those they contract with to “try to get the most out of them, to be as efficient as possible.”
Ryan also said she met with a government official the morning of Nov. 14 “to discuss some of the pressures that we are under.”
“They understand as a government at the provincial level that there needs to be a bit more support,” Ryan said. “They are looking at the lodge assistance program next year. They will be looking at all the lodges.”
Ryan said the MVSH board has lobbied on behalf of seniors in the area, as has the Alberta Seniors Community Housing Association, which represents MVSH.
She also noted that Premier Danielle Smith has talked about the need to provide more help for seniors.
“Our Ministry of Seniors and Community Social Services has been responsive to our concerns and willing to meet with us not only to listen but discuss how they can help and what areas see the greatest need.” Stilling said in the news release.
“I think that getting in front of the faces of government will help. It’s just a matter of – this all takes time,” Ryan said.
“We have a very good, solid staff that is very supportive of our seniors and I think that that’s one of the biggest benefits of all, is having a very strong staff.”
Mayor Judy Dahl asked Ryan what’s happening in regards to indications the province supports seniors aging at home.
“We have had conversations with the province in regards to that. There seems to be a bit of two minds happening," Ryan said.
“They want to fund additional home care to allow seniors to stay in their homes longer and yet we have lodge vacancies.So you know, you can’t have it both ways. You have to sort of have a good balance.”
Dahl agreed with that assessment.
