Managers on a quarterly basis retroactively, in accordance with the Service Manager quarterly claim submissions.
Administration of WEHB and COHB
The City of Windsor is the Consolidated Municipal Service Manager for the delivery of housing programs. The Windsor Essex Community Housing Corporation (CHC) has been delegated the role of management and oversight of the Central Housing Registry Windsor Essex County (CHR) coordinated access waitlist for social and affordable housing and rent supplements on behalf of the City of Windsor as Service Manager. CHC also administers various rent supplement/housing allowance funding streams under a Rent Subsidy Service Agreement with the City of Windsor as Service Manager. CHC has agreed to deliver the COHB and WEHB programs and will work collaboratively with Housing Services in delivering both of these programs.
The CHR in conjunction with Housing Services as Service Manager is currently successfully administering the Portable Housing Benefit-Special Priority Policy (PHBSPP) program in the Windsor Essex service area. The PHB-SPP recipients transitioned to the COHB once it became available provincially.
Risk Analysis:
As Service Manager, the City of Windsor is currently in breach of the Housing Services Act, 2011 specifically, the shortfall in meeting our legislated service level standard. The risk associated with our service level standard shortfall can be mitigated by the development and implementation of the WEHB. The availability of the WEHB as an option in Windsor and Essex County will assist in reducing and potentially eliminating the identified service level shortfall in the Windsor Essex County service area, while providing housing affordability assistance to low income residents in the Windsor Essex County.
Financial Matters:
The City of Windsor is the Service Manager with respect to Social Housing for the City of Windsor and the County of Essex. The municipal cost of Social Housing is shared with the County of Essex using the arbitrated weighted assessment formula.
As the Service Manager for Windsor and Essex County, the City is responsible in accordance with the Housing Services Act, 2011, for maintaining a minimum geared-toincome service level of 5,726 households whose income is no greater than the household income limit prescribed in O.Reg 367/11. Based on the reporting requirements of the Provincial government, the City of Windsor has historically been approximately 450 units below the legislated service level. In June 2019, Housing Services received a request from the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing (MMAH) to submit an Action Plan illustrating how the City will "work towards incrementally meeting your Service Level Standard".
Windsor Essex Housing Benefit (WEHB)
As an option to bridge the current service level shortfall, Operating budget issue #20200230 was brought forward by Housing Services for Council's consideration in 2020. Housing Services proposed the development and delivery of a housing subsidy program