Council approved a resolution during its February 22 session to create an advisory committee on affordable housing. The decision follows up on recommendations to council in January from Asad Bhatti and Scott Travis of the non-profit consult group, Rural Development Network (RDN).
The affordable housing committee will include councilors Robert Lefebvre, Yves Paquette, and Antonios Tsourounakis, with Mayor Paula Assaly also sitting as an ex officio member. Also serving on the committee will be Dominique Dussault, municipal human resources director and interim chief administrator, Céleste Cordonnier, town planner, and Dominique Daoust, interim deputy clerk, who will act as committee secretary.
The new committee will advise council on local affordable housing issues. That includes recommendations on assigning staff and funding “to advance affordable housing strategies as a priority” for the municipality, helping to coordinate a local housing program, offer suggestions for local housing policy and also creating incentives to increase the amount of available affordable housing, monitor the progress of an action plan dealing with local affordable housing needs, and providing advice and recommendations to council for the creation in future of a municipal reserve fund for affordable housing programs or projects.
