Board of Directors Meeting - February 27, 2019

Agenda

1. Chair’s Remarks

Action: Information

Pre-read: Verbal Report 5 minutes

Presenter: Chair

2. Consent agenda

Action: -

Pre-read: -

Presenter: -

2a. Approval of Public Meeting Agenda

Action: Approval

Pre-read: Agenda

Presenter: Chair

2b. Chair’s Poll re: Conflict of Interest

Action: Declaration

Pre-read: Agenda and Conflict of Interest Policy

Presenter: Chair

2c. Confirmation of Board of Directors’ Public Meeting Minutes of December 6, 2018 and February 5, 2019

Action: Approval

Pre-read: Minutes

Presenter: Chair

2d. Business Arising from the Public Meeting Minutes and Action Items Update of December 6, 2018

Action: Information

Pre-read: Action item list

Presenter: Chair

2e. 2019 Review Schedule for Policies Requiring Board Approval

Action: Information

Pre-read: TCHC:2019-07

Presenter: Acting Director, Strategic Planning & Stakeholder Relations

2f. Review of Board and Committee Charters

Action: Approval

Pre-read: TCHC:2019-06

Presenter: General Counsel and Corporate Secretary

2g. OCHE Q3 2018 Update

Action: Information

Pre-read: TCHC:2019-04

Presenter: Commissioner of Housing Equity

2h. OCHE – 2019 Work Plan

Action: Approval

Pre-read: TCHC:2019-03

Presenter: Commissioner of Housing Equity

3. President and Chief Executive Officer’s Remarks

Action: Information

Pre-read: Verbal Report 5 minutes

Presenter: Acting President and Chief Executive Officer

3a. 2019 Business Plan

Action: Information

Pre-read: TCHC:2019-11 10 minutes

Presenter: Acting Director, Strategic Planning & Stakeholder Relations

3b. CEO's Report - December and Year-end 2018

Action: Information

Pre-read: TCHC:2019-12 10 minutes

Presenter: Acting Director, Strategic Planning & Stakeholder Relations

4. GCHRC Chair’s Report

Action: Information

Pre-read: Verbal Report 5 minutes

Presenter: GCHRC Chair

5. BIFAC Chair’s Report

Action: Information

Pre-read: Verbal Report 5 minutes

Presenter: TSC Chair

6. TSC Chair’s Report

Action: Information

Pre-read: Verbal Report 5 minutes

Presenter: BIFAC Chair

6a. TCHC Report Back to City Council on Community Safety Response

Action: Approval

Pre-read: TCHC:2019-09 15 minutes

Presenter: Acting President and Chief Executive Officer

6b. OCHE 2018 Annual Report

Action: Information

Pre-read: TCHC:2019-02 10 minutes

Presenter: Commissioner of Housing Equity

TERMINATION

Minutes

The Board of Directors (“Board”) of the Toronto Community Housing Corporation (“TCHC”) held a public meeting on February 27, 2019 at 10:47 a.m. in in the Main Floor Conference Room at 931 Yonge Street, Toronto and via teleconference.

Directors in Attendance:

Kevin Marshman (Chair)

Councillor Ana Bailão

Debbie Douglas

Ubah Farah

Linda Jackson

Wendy Kelley

Colin Lynch

Nick Macrae

Directors Absent:

Amanda Coombs

Councillor Paula Fletcher

Councillor Michael Ford

Brian Smith

Management present:

Luisa Andrews, Vice President, Information Technology Services

Ismail Ibrahim, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary

Rose-Ann Lee, Chief Financial Officer & Treasurer

Lisa Ossowski, IHMS Project Manager

Sheila Penny, Acting President and Chief Executive Officer

Yi-Mei Ting, Legal Counsel & Assistant Corporate Secretary (Acting)

Vincent Tong, Chief Development Officer

A quorum being present, Mr. Marshman, the Chair served of the meeting and called the meeting to order, and Ms. Fung served as recording secretary.

Item 1 – Chair’s Remarks

The Chair welcomed everyone to the Board meeting and noted the Acknowledgement of the Land.

The Chair noted that quorum would be lost around 11:30 a.m. and some agenda items would need to be deferred to the next Board meeting. The Chair apologized to members of the public who took time to attend the meeting in person and on webcast for the inconvenience.

The Chair thanked Mr. Lynch, the Vice Chair, and Ms. Kelley, Chair of GCHRC, for providing support to the Board while the Chair was out of the country.

The Chair also thanked Ms. Penny, Acting President and Chief Executive Officer, for stepping in to act as the Acting President and CEO until April 2, 2019.

The Vice Chair, Colin Lynch, delivered a statement concerning:

• Dismissal of the previous President and CEO: The Board dismissed the previous CEO following an independent investigation into how a $1.3-million contract was awarded to a vendor. The Board acted in the best interests of TCHC and the tenants.
• Appointment of new President and CEO:
  • Sheila Penny, who has been Acting President and CEO since December, will continue in this role until April 2, 2019. Kevin Marshman, at the request of the Board, will step in as full-time President and CEO effective April 3, 2019.
  • The Board looks forward to welcoming Mr. Marshman to the role of CEO on April 3, 2019. Mr. Marshman has a track record of support and understanding of TCHC given that he served as a member of the Board since 2015, as Vice Chair and then as Chair. Mr. Marshman also served as the interim CEO in 2017, which provided him with much greater insight into TCHC.

The Chair resumed delivery of his remarks:

• Mr. Marshman looks forward to returning to TCHC on April 3, 2019 as President and CEO. Mr. Marshman stated that he is committed to continuing TCHC’s focus on organizational culture change, and will be focused on making tangible improvements to tenants’ living spaces, tenant services and addressing tenants’ need, with truly tenant-centric approach to realize the spirit of Tenants First.
• Update on confidential session:
  • Integrated Housing Management System (“IHMS”) Project: The Board approved the contract award and project plan for the IHMS project. This multi-year project will replace more than 30 legacy business applications and IT systems that are at end of life with a new, fully supported integrated solution. Once fully implemented, the system will support more efficient and effective business processes that better serve our tenants
  • Reserve Strategy: The Board also approved a new model for TCHC’s cash reserves. The new model reduces the number of reserve funds from seven to four, and provides greater flexibility to address immediate short-term needs. The new model also allows unspent budgeted capital expenditures to be transferred, with the Board’s approval, from a year-end surplus into a cash reserve fund, enabling the unspent funds to be used to meet the expenditure in a future year.

Deputations

The Chair polled for any deputations to be heard at the meeting. The following deputations were presented:

• Item 3A – 2019 Business Plan (Deputed by Anisa Mohammad (deputation read by Muhudin Mohamed on her behalf), Cathy Birch, Tom Robson;
• Item 3B – CEO’s Report – December and Year-end 2018 (Deputed by Muhudin Mohamed); and
• Item 6A – TCHC Report Back to City Council on Community Safety Response (Deputed by Miguel Avila)

Copies of written deputation submitted by Patricia Duck were distributed to members of the Board.

Item 2A – Approval of Public Meeting Agenda

It was decided that items 2F and 2H be moved out of the consent agenda.

Motion carried

ON MOTION DULY MADE by Ms. Kelley, seconded by Mr. Macrae and carried, the Board approved the amended agenda.

Item 2B – Chair’s Poll Re: Conflict of Interest

The Chair requested members of the Board of Directors to indicate any agenda item in which they have a conflict of interest, together with the nature of the interest. No conflicts were declared.

Item 2C – Confirmation of Board of Directors’ Public Meeting Minutes of December 6, 2018 and Feburary 5, 2019

The Board had before it the draft public minutes for December 6, 2018 and February 5, 2019.

Motion carried

ON MOTION DULY MADE by Ms. Kelley, seconded by Mr. Macrae and carried, the Board confirmed the above-captioned minutes without amendments.

Item 2D – Business Arising from the Public Meeting Minutes and Action Items, Update of February 5, 2019

Motion carried

ON MOTION DULY MADE by Ms. Kelley, seconded by Mr. Macrae and carried, the Board received the report for information.

Item 2E – 2019 Review Schedle for Policies Requiring Board Approval, TCHC:2019-07

The Board had before it the above-captioned report (TCHC:2019-07) from the Acting Director, Strategic Planning & Stakeholder Relations.

Motion carried

ON MOTION DULY MADE by Ms. Kelley, seconded by Mr. Macrae and carried, the Board of Directors unanimously approved the recommendations in this report.

Item 2F – Review of Board and Committee Charters, TCHC:2019-06

The Board had before it the above-captioned report (TCHC:2019-06) from the Director, Strategic Planning and Shareholder Relations.

Highlights of discussion:

• It was suggested that the draft Procurement Award Committee Charter (attachment 5) be held and reviewed at a future meeting.
• It was noted that the following amendments be made:
  • On the draft GCHRC Charter (attachment 1), page 6, under “Meetings”, second last line from bottom, “Chairman of the Board” should read “Chair of the Board”.
  • On the draft TSC Charter (attachment 2), page 1, under “Responsibilities”, the format needs to be modified to align with the rest of document.
  • On the draft Charter for the Board of Directors (attachment 6), page 1, under “Purpose” first paragraph, line 8, “Homeward 2016” should be updated with the current budget information.
  • On the Vice Chair Mandate (attachment 8), the last sentence should read: “The Chair shall select a Vice Chair and recommend for approval by the Board.”

Motion carried

ON MOTION DULY MADE by Ms. Douglas, seconded by Ms. Farah and carried, the Board unanimously approved the recommendations in this report, with above-noted amendments, and exclusion of the Procurement Award Committee Charter (attachment 5).

Item 2G – OCHE Q3 2018 Update, TCHC:2019-04

The Board had before it the above-captioned report (TCHC:2019-04) from the Commissioner of Housing Equity.

Motion carried

ON MOTION DULY MADE by Ms. Kelley, seconded by Mr. Macrae and carried, the Board of Directors unanimously received this report for information.

Item 2H – OCHE - 2019 Work Plan, TCHC:2019-03

The Board had before it the above-captioned report (TCHC:2019-03) from the TSC. The Commissioner of Housing Equity answered questions from Board members.

Highlights of discussion included:

• BIFAC appreciated the report, which shows great work and great evidence of collaboration.
• OCHE noted TCHC has put OCHE suggestions into effect, and implemented them with positive changes as a result.
• Positive impact of OCHE’s recommendations was evidenced in increased number of referrals from TCHC staff. So far, TCHC has agreed with every recommendation made by OCHE.
• Tracking of outcomes is included in the 2019 OCHE work plan.
• It was suggested that systemic change be monitored and comparison of results be tracked. The report should contain more results to show impacts.

Motion carried

ON MOTION DULY MADE by Ms. Jackson, seconded by Mr. Lynch and carried, the Board adopted recommendation of this report and approved the OCHE 2019 Work Plan.

Item 3A – 2019 Business Plan, TCHC:2019-11

The following verbal deputations were received with respect to this report

1. Anisa Mohammad (Ms. Mohammad was unable to attend and Mr. Muhudin Mohamed spoke on her behalf);
2. Cathy Birch; and
3. Tom Robson.

The following verbal deputation was received with respect to: Item 6A – TCHC Report Back to City Council on Community Safety Response (Deputed by Miguel Avila).

The Acting President and Chief Executive Officer presented the report (TCHC:2019-11) with a PowerPoint presentation.

Some highlights/statistics included the following:

• This is the first year of implementation of the four-year strategic plan that was developed with extensive input and feedback from tenants. It operationalizes the 2019 budget around TCHC’s three priorities: positive tenant experience, quality homes and vibrant communities.
• It was noted that commercial revenue (page 8 of attachment) at 2.5% is not high enough. Management will look at target and report back.
• The Board noted that tenant satisfaction levels on third party managed properties is low. Management will submit a report to the next Board meeting with a plan to bring service levels in the contract managed portfolio up to same level as the direct managed portfolio, with cost comparison.
• Management will bring a report to a future Board meeting on targets, actions, outcomes and strategy to reduce arrears, vacancy rates and number of empty units.

Motion carried

ON MOTION DULY MADE by Ms. Kelley, seconded by Mr. Lynch and carried, the Board approved the recommendations of this report with Management to follow up on:

1. Commercial revenue (page 8 of attachment) 2019 target increase percentage;
2. Contract managed properties; and 3. Strategic plan to reduce arrears, vacancy rates and number of empty units.

Item 3B – CEO’s Report, TCHC:2019-12

Item 4 – GCHRC Chair’s Report, Verbal

Item 5 – BIFAC Chair’s Report, Verbal

Item 6 – TSC Chair’s Report, Verbal

Item 6A – TCHC Report Back to City Council, TCHC:2019-09

Item 6B – OCEH 2018 Annual Report, TCHC:2019-02

Motion carried

ON MOTION DULY MADE by Councillor Bailao, seconded by Ms. Jackson and carried, the Board of Directors unanimously agreed to defer the above listed items to the next Board meeting.

New Item – Tenant Services Committee (“TSC”) Chair’s Remarks Re Tenant Refresh

Chair of TSC provided an update on Tenant Refresh:

• Ms. Jackson advised the Board that there were substantial deputations on the Tenant Refresh process.
• A lot of positive feedback was also been received from diverse groups.
• The project originally was scheduled to conclude in January 2019; however, in view of the large number of participants and to ensure that all voices have an opportunity to be heard, the finalization of the tenant refresh system will be extended to mid 2019.

Termination

The public meeting terminated at 11:47 a.m.

The following verbal deputations were received after meeting was adjourned: Item 3B – CEO’s Report – December and Year-end 2018 (Deputed by Muhudin Mohamed).