Simcoe County will oversee the management of the Gateway Co-op on Anne Street in Barrie, just north of Highway 400 for up to a year, while a new board finds its footing.

Co-op residents elected a new board in February, but later this month, the new board will be rounded out with county staff and possibly two county appointees.

“The board is working with us and wants to work with us. This is good news,” said Cathy Kytyko, the county’s social housing manager.

“The board wants to move to a sound governance structure.”

That wasn’t the case a year ago. In April 2007, the co-op’s board of directors resigned after county staff laid down the law regarding financial controls. The law is literally the Social Housing Reform Act, which transferred the day-to-day responsibility for social housing to the county in 2002.

Part of the county’s responsibility is to ensure transparency and accountability in finances, as well as ensuring provincial standards relating to maintenance and operations are respected. To do the job, the county has a $17-million social housing budget, some of which is distributed directly to co-operatives so they may offer subsidized rents.

The catch is that the co-operatives must be transparent with their finances and abide by not only provincial regulations, but their own operating agreements. There are rules regarding maintenance reserve funds, as well as operating funds and subsidies.

After the local board resigned last spring, the county appointed a receiver-manager.

This spring, the receivership agreement ended, and the co-operative elected a new slate of directors. 

The county has recruited a board member who has a financial professional accreditation, who has committed to a two-year term to help educate the new board.

The new board will take over governing the 217-unit co-operative in June, but the board will include county staff and its decisions could be vetoed by county council. The county will also offer training for the board.