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At our last AGM the strata committee ( executive committee in old strata act) was give approval to make decisions on expenditure upto $10,000. However our Strata Manager wants to hold a formal EC meeting by mailing to all unit owners and having the EC formally vote on even quite minor matters.
They say all owners should be informed before the EC , now [Strata] Committee makes a decision. Of course this costs the Body corporate for the Strata manager to organise the Formal Strata Committee meeting. This seems a waste of everyone’s time and body corporate money…if this is needed why have a Strata Committee? can anyone advise is this necessary?
Also the strata manager insisted on a similar formal meeting when the EC decided which strata insurance to take. Please any comments , was this neccessary. Thank you
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It sounds like you are saying that you just want the committee to have a bit of a chat on the phone or via email and come to a decision and move on.
If that’s the case, that strata manager is mostly right.
Critical issues like appointing insurers and spending sums like $10,000 should at least be on an agenda and minutes and leave a paper trail.
According to this factsheet you can vote in writing provided notice of the items being discussed has been given. You can also elect to have meetings and votes electronically.
Obviously there is more leeway in emergencies but how many issues are so urgent that you can’t send all your owners an agenda a few days in advance?
Also, your strata managers should be allowed a certain level of delegated powers to avoid unnecessary delays or meetings being called.
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Sometimes it is necessary to make decisions between meetings. The issue with these decisions is transparency.
In QLD we have something called a “Flying Minute” (also termed a Vote Outside a Committee Meeting or VOC) which allows decisions to be made by the EC between meetings.
It is expected that FMs would be used in limited circumstances only and where the decision was of an important and urgent nature.
To maintain transparency the requirements are as follows: The QLD legislation does not say how much notice must be given for the motion or when votes must be made. Voting is conducted by email with a YES or NO answer. Motions will be accepted if agreed to by a simple majority of the EC. Copies of the email responses will be printed and kept as a record. As soon as possible after the motion has been given to the committee, it must be provided to lot owners. A record of the motion voted on must be given to all committee members and all owners within 21 days after the motion is decided. At the EC Meeting following the FM the motion and the outcome must be noted and recorded in the Minutes.
In an emergency, notice of the motion only needs to be given to those committee members that it is reasonably practical to contact.Votes can be made verbally or in some other form. Advice of the motion can be given to owners when it is reasonably practical to do so. Any motion voted on outside a committee meeting must be confirmed at the next committee meeting.