DEFEATED - Proportional Representation on Housing Management Body Boards

Housing management bodies in Alberta are mandated by the Minister of Seniors, Community, and Social Services to requisition funding from municipalities to provide affordable housing services. However, these bodies often operate with limited accountability and governance structures that fail to reflect the financial contributions of the municipalities they requisition. This misalignment has significant implications for taxpayers, who ultimately bear the cost of poor governance and mismanagement.

Municipalities like Wheatland County contribute substantial funding to housing management bodies. For example, Wheatland County is responsible for  65.5% of the Wheatland Housing Management Body’s (WHMB) financial liability but holds only  27.3% of the board representation. The WHMB board is composed of 11 members, three of whom represent entities that contribute no financial funding. Additionally, three villages, collectively responsible for just 1.4% of the financial liability, hold equal voting power to Wheatland County and the Town of Strathmore, which together contribute 98.6% of the financial funding. This governance inequity enables smaller contributors and non-contributing members to make critical financial decisions, such as the creation of reserve funds, without adequate input or approval from municipalities bearing the overwhelming majority of the financial burden. This imbalance undermines fairness, accountability, and fiscal responsibility, placing undue pressure on larger contributors and their taxpayers.

Adding to these concerns is Section 23(6) of the Management Body Operation and Administration Regulation (Alberta Regulation 243/1994), which allows the majority of requisitioned municipalities to make decisions on key financial matters, such as creating reserve funds, even when larger contributors oppose these decisions. This imbalance allows housing management boards to direct the use of municipal funds without proportional representation or oversight, leading to inefficiencies and decisions that do not align with fiscal responsibility.

Moreover, housing management body boards frequently assert autonomy, refusing to provide requisitioned municipalities with adequate information or transparency regarding their decisions. Municipalities are left with little recourse to hold these boards accountable, even though they are directly responsible for funding their operations. This lack of accountability raises significant concerns about taxation without representation, as housing management body board members are appointed, not elected, yet control decisions that impact municipal taxpayers.

The consequences of this poor governance and lack of accountability include:

1. Mismanagement of Taxpayer Funds: Housing management bodies are not being held accountable for their spending decisions, resulting in inefficient use of municipal funds and financial waste that directly impacts taxpayers.
2. Unfair Financial Burdens: Larger contributors, such as Wheatland County, are forced to subsidize decisions made by smaller municipalities which have minimal financial responsibility, creating inequities for taxpayers in high-contributing municipalities.
3. Detrimental Economic Impacts: Poor governance practices discourage investment, reduce the profitability of local industries such as oil and gas, and increase the financial burden on rural taxpayers.

Proportional governance representation would:

• Align decision-making power with financial responsibility, ensuring that municipalities contributing the most funding have appropriate oversight and influence over housing management bodies.
• Enhance accountability by requiring transparency and better governance practices from housing management bodies.
• Protect taxpayers by preventing inequitable financial decisions and ensuring the efficient use of municipal funds.

Municipalities must have proportional representation and oversight of the funds they provide to housing management bodies to ensure fair, equitable, and fiscally responsible governance. Addressing these issues through legislative and regulatory reforms is critical to protecting taxpayers and improving the long-term sustainability of housing programs in Alberta.