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As municipalities are either meeting their annual housing quotas or missing the mark, some are questioning the validity of numbers reported by the Ontario government.
In Cambridge, the province says the city only met 75 per cent of its 1,393 goal of new home starts in 2023, but city staff are saying this number should be a lot higher.
"I don't know what metric they are using or mechanism, but they haven't counted any of our long-term care (LTC) units and only counted 74 of our additional residential units (ARU)," said Hardy Bromberg Cambridge's deputy city manager of community development. "These numbers don't seem to be correct."
According to data from Bromberg and his team, 253 ARUs and over 108 LTC beds should have been accounted for in the provincial total for last year.
This would put Cambridge at 1,347 of its 1,393 goal.
"We only need to be at 80 per cent of our annual goal to be eligible for compensation by the province. We should be at 97 per cent," added Bromberg.
The province promised back in August 2023 that municipalities would be rewarded for reaching at least 80 per cent of their annual target and would add incentives for those who exceed their goal.
The Building Faster Fund puts $1.2 billion up for grabs for those who can meet and fulfill their numbers, making them "whole."
If the province recognizes Cambridge's efforts to pass the 80 per cent mark there would be up to $4.5 million on the table for the municipality.
Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing, Paul Calandra was in Guelph this morning to hand out a $4.68 million ‘reward’ to Mayor Cam Guthrie for that city achieving 98 per cent of the 1,320-unit target.
Cambridge had pledged back in 2021 to build 19,000 homes by 2031 for the More Homes Built Faster Act, a target Bromberg thinks the city is already on its way to achieving.
"We have over 20,000 units right now that are in various stages of the approval process, but we are waiting on the developers and private sector to actually put shovels in the ground," he said.
The housing act also known as Bill 23, would offer discounts on development charges as an incentive for developers to start building.
Over the past few months, the City of Cambridge has been trying to meet with the Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) and the province to ask them about these discrepancies and to explain the definition of "housing starts".
CMHC did not respond to requests for comment.
"I'm not saying they made a mistake, but I don't understand how they are counting these numbers," said Bromberg. "There just seems to be a disconnect between the work that council is doing and what the province is reflecting."
If Cambridge does not meet its goal for 2023, city staff note that this will cause significant revenue loss for the city and could drain reserve funds.
Sheryl Ayres, chief financial officer for the city explained to council during a March 2023 meeting that reserve funds for public works, growth studies, parks and recreation services and library services would be completely drained for the year as Bill 23 discounts are phased in for developers.
These development charges are an essential revenue stream for the city to maintain and offer services to the community.
Bromberg notes that the $4.8 million that the city would get could have a profound impact on the community and they are fighting to make sure Cambridge is not left footing the bill.
"There could be millions of dollars for our community and you wouldn't want to be ineligible due to an error somewhere down the line."
Last week, Cambridge was also announced as the latest recipient of the Housing Accelerator Fund by the federal government to the tune of $13.3 million.
This investment will help the city revamp its online building permit system and help identify surplus land for affordable housing.
"The funding will also help us look into the future and start to prepare for what the city will look like as we continue to grow," said Bromberg.
