DISTRICT NEWS

DISTRICT NEWS

It was a busy few months in our Districts. Districts 2, 3, 4, 8 and 9 all hosted virtual, in-person and hybrid meetings. We caught up with each of the District Chairs to find out more about each of their events.

DISTRICT 2

What are the three take aways you got from attending the session?

Our take aways included: the Hybrid Meeting format does work and was well received for those who couldn’t attend in person, a historic site in Hamilton is a good central meeting site off the highway for members to travel to and from, and we found there was interest in recording future meetings for sale afterwards for those who could not attend.

What is your District focusing on for the upcoming year?

I believe the focus of our district will continue to be planning our next meeting, likely next spring as there are quite a few meeting already planned for the fall.

What new information do you think attendees found most interesting?

I believe all three of our presentations provide a wealth of new information, I personally enjoyed the Landfills presentation the most having the least exposure to such an asset throughout my career.

Why do you think volunteering with your District Executive is important?

From my perspective, I think volunteering keeps me connected with colleagues from various organizations across our industry. I am always looking to develop new relationships with our municipal partners and tax agents. Being part of the industry for 27 years, I also use my roll in the executive to engage with the next generation of assessment professionals, provide mentorship and guidance as they navigate their career opportunities. This engagement helps with success planning by opening the door, starting the dialogue, and sets up future discussions with our younger professionals. Earlier in my career, I accepted the Vice-Chair and Chair roles to practice my public speaking in front of other assessment professionals to develop confidence and composure when appearing in court. In the end, it’s my way of giving back to the IMA for years of educational content and helping organize future content.

DISTRICTS 3 & 4

Why did Districts 3 & 4 collaborate to bring together this District Meeting?

Districts 3 and 4 have similar market areas and interests. Historically we have always done these meetings together. A lot of people live and work in either district so there is a lot of overlap.

What are the three take aways you got from attending the session?

People enjoyed the in-person meeting. It’s been 5 years since our last in-person meeting and our districts enjoyed the opportunity to network with members.

Logistics are crucial when planning an in-person meeting. Given that the assessment update has been paused for several years it was challenging to find new and innovative speakers to discuss assessment.

Having a wide variety of topics- assessment and otherwise makes for a more informative and interesting day.

What new information do you think attendees found most interesting?

AI is a big topic that is on everyone’s mind- What can it do? How will it affect our industry? Future applications?

In relation to their scope of work, attendees were interested in the speakers for various reasons. The LRT discussion spoke to the impact between the LRT and surrounding properties positively and negatively. Many of our members were interested in this aspect of discussion as it relates to value.

Changes to legislation in regards to heritage properties and how they will affect the population of heritage structures across the province.

What is your District focusing on for the upcoming year?

We are currently in the process of closing out the meeting. This means getting feedback from the districts (a survey will be going out), establishing lessons learned and best practices. The rest of the year will be focused on continuing professional development. We are encouraging our districts to attend some of the other great CPD offerings.

Why do you think volunteering with your District Executive is important?

The role of the District Executive is to liaise between the members and the executive. Volunteering is so important as it makes you a well-rounded individual in your industry. It forces you to keep up to date with current events within the industry. To host a successful meeting you must present speakers that are relevant to your attendees and the issues that arise in their district. It provides you the opportunity to collaborate with individuals in your industry outside of your day to day work contacts.

DISTRICTS 8 & 9

Why did Districts 8 & 9 collaborate to bring together this District Meeting?

Since District 8 had a whole new executive, and it was their first time organizing a meeting together, and District 8/9 have so many similarities with respect to their markets, we thought it would be great to collaborate on a virtual meeting this year.

There was a lot of work put into the Mock Settlement Conference, what are the three take aways you got from attending the session?

Three key takeaways would be:

1) Be prepared and know both your side as well as the others’ side thoroughly;

2) Be ready for the unexpected;

3) Have a good idea of where you are willing to settle, and where you are not, going into the Settlement Conference.

In terms of the Secondary Dwelling Unit session - what new information do you think attendees found most interesting?

While this presentation was primarily geared to the Sudbury market, many of the issues resulting in a housing shortage here are applicable in many markets. Most of the housing growth in the Sudbury market has involved single detached homes however encouraging a broader supply of ownership typologies are required to meet the current and future housing demand. Interestingly, the newest and most expensive rental stock has the tightest vacancy which indicate that people are willing to pay a premium to live in newer buildings. Simultaneously, the supply of low-end and rent-geared-to-income units fall way short of demand, meaning there is potential for growth at all levels of the market. To promote the creation of more housing, the City of Greater Sudbury has introduced policies regarding secondary dwelling units, parking reductions and zoning amendments that allow for multi-unit buildings to be built in more commercial zones. It also reduced or exempted development charges for certain projects. The Secondary Dwelling Unit program encourages a gentle intensification of existing neighbourhoods by permitting secondary units in basements, additions or ancillary structures thereby taking advantage of existing infrastructure making home ownership more affordable for an owner renting out a secondary unit. In the end, the City of Greater Sudbury is hoping to create an additional 10,300 to 11,600 households within the next 30 years when Sudbury’s population is expected to reach 200,000 people.

What is your District focusing on for the upcoming year?

District 9 is going to be having an election this summer and afterwards we will begin planning an in-person meeting for 2025.

District 8 will continue to build momentum with the return of the District Meeting that hasn’t happened for 4-5 years. The executive will promote new membership into the IMA by encouraging current and new members to enroll in some of the courses offered by the IMA. Budget permitting, we are also looking to have an in-person meeting for 2025 and to that end have been considering some exciting and timely topics and speakers for our next session.

Volunteering for the District Executive is very important to help grow and shape our membership, education, and future within our local executive, as well as within the IMA as a whole. It helps give a local perspective, and flavour as well as an opportunity for networking, when we plan and execute our District meetings, which is a very important part to have within the broader umbrella of the IMA.