Natasha Carvalho, executive director of the Medicine Hat Women's Shelter Society, speaks at city council's meeting Monday, while members of the MHWSS board look on.--News Photo Collin Gallant
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The Medicine Hat Women’s Shelter will receive $1.85 million from the city toward its major renovation – the first outlay under a municipal non-profit capital grant program – but $1 million less than originally requested.
That difference is due to $1 million in provincial grants to help modernize the Phoenix Safehouse, which is underway at an expected cost $8.5 million.
A grant program ushered in last fall would have allowed up to $2.85 million, but councillors who debated the potential size of incoming grants and competing uses for reserve cash, approved the lower amount by a 6-1 vote.
Coun. Darren Hirsch voted against the grant while speaking in favour of the society but also for the need to put hard caps on total amounts available.
“I absolutely love non-profits in the City of Medicine Hat, but there’s many of them,” said Hirsch. “If we start funding projects with no cap on it, we don’t know what that looks like. From a taxpayer’s point of view it looks like an open cheque.”
Councillors also spoke in favour of setting guardrails and heard from administrators who developed the program according to council’s request, but are considering larger financial implications.
“I couldn’t agree more that we need some boundaries around this,” said Mayor Linnsie Clark. “Having a program assumes we have the money to fund it … I don’t want to punish the women’s shelter, but before we see another application, we need to have a serious discussion about money and what we can afford to fund.”
Women’s shelter executive director Natasha Carvalho said her group began construction two years ago out of need, and applied for the maximum amount – one-third of its budget – to cut down on a mortgage that is in place holding while fundraising and grants are sought.
That includes a recent Community Facilities Enhancement Program grant.
“To me the CFEP grant belongs in the two-thirds (non-city share), but I appreciate the city is trying to find a number that works,” she told reporters after the vote. “The $1.85 million is going to go a long way.”
“(We are) a provincially funded service, but we’re directly helping citizens of Medicine Hat, and we’re an essential service.
The group, which serves 1,400 clients each year, still has a $2.7-million mortgage from the Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation – which the society will seek to lessen with more fundraising. Along with city fundings, the group used $2 million in its own reserves, $1 million from the provincial grant and $1 million general fundraising.
“It was the first application that we received but was a very, very strong application, and they will be a strong performer,” said public services managing director Joseph Hutter.
Coun. Ramona Robins led the push for administration to develop an evaluation program last year after council dealt ad hoc with capital grant requests from the Medicine Hat Curling Club, Stampede and Community Housing Society.
“Everything is worthwhile, but this is taxpayers’ dollars, so it needs to be evaluated,” she said Monday. “I appreciate that the women’s shelter is the Guinea pig … This has worked out how I envisioned.”
Registered non-profits that operate or have served MH residents for at least one year, provide services that align with general municipal goals, have an open membership structure and are in good standing financially with the city, are eligible.
Applications are scored on four principles such as community need, strategic alignment, the ability to mitigate cost overruns and organizational sustainability.
They must secure two-thirds of the project budget from other sources and show an ability to shoulder any added operational costs.
Hirsch said that at a high level, he sees an urgent need to put a cap on the program considering the potential size of future asks, and the city’s need to keep reserves from eroding.
“Funding the full amount would be nice, but there are competing interests,” said Coun. Robert Dumanowski.
The two options, $1.85 million or $2.85 million, are also attached to budget estimates that see either a 0.09 per cent or 0.14 per cent tax increase to replace lost investment income.
In the wider financial implications for the city budget, removing $1 million from reserves would result in a $48,000 loss in investment income – money earmarked for capital needs or to fill an operational shortfall and subsidize tax rates.
To maintain the same financial plan without the investment income requires other revenue, such as taxes, to increase.
