L’ORIGNAL | Many local pensioners call them home and they mean a lot to people who want to maintain an independent standard of living in PrescottRussell. So now the counties council will give some thought to setting up a special reserve fund for domiciliary hostels in the region.

The United Counties of Prescott-Russell (UCPR) has subsidy agreements with more than three dozen domiciliary hostels in the two counties. Many of the smaller ones are located in Russell County while Prescott County has most of the larger multipleresident setups. Each receives a combined provincial/counties subsidy to help cover the operating costs for their residents who are all on fixed incomes, either senior or disability pension, and who have limited budgets for their rent, food, medical, and other living expenses. Each resident also receives a small amount of the subsidy as a “personal needs benefit” for such things as toiletries, health and hygiene items, and other personal necessities.

UCPR Social Services Director Anne Comtois-Lalonde presented counties council during its August 13 committee of the whole session with a proposal to create a special reserve fund for domiciliary hostels. The reserve fund would benefit those hostels that have subsidy agreements with the counties and would serve as a depository for any leftover surplus funds at the end of the year from the subsidy allocation included in the annual counties budget.

“Part of the money could be used for discretionary benefits,” Comtois-Lalonde said, citing as an example either installation of or improvements to fire sprinklers or other protection equipment in the hostels.

How large of a surplus might exist at the end of a budget year would depend on what kind of expenses a domiciliary hostel operation had to deal with outside of the usual. Some expenses, like heating costs, could vary from year to year for various reasons. But the special reserve would serve as a source of funds that a hostel could draw on in an emergency or for necessary projects or programs.

While the province does provide part of the annual domiciliary hostel subsidy, it does so through the UCPR. This year’s provincial share was about $2.5 million after deducting administrative expenses. The UCPR’s own subsidy share this year was about $3.08 million.

Stéphane Parisien, UCPR chief administrator, told council that the counties have the right to decide how to deal any surplus that occurs. Once the provincial portion of the subsidy becomes part of the counties’ budget allocation to the hostels, it is not entitled to any clawback of unspent funds.

“Any surplus is the counties’,” he said. “It’s the ratepayers’ money. It’s not the province’s.”

Council members were in general agreement on the idea of creating a special reserve fund for any hostel subsidy surplus rather than let make it part of the general counties reserve. Council directed Comtois-Lalonde to prepare a detailed report for either the August 27 regular session or the September session on how the new reserve fund would work. (GC)