Your group within the Committee appear to have the majority.
From my understanding, you are the Chairperson so therefore you will Chair the Meeting by phone and you will control the meeting. You will need to be firm and not have the Secretary dominate the meeting or become unruly.
Who will be taking the Minutes of the Meeting – the Strata Manager???? How will this happen?
This is what I would do if I was you:
- You will need to inform the Secretary ASAP that the Secretary does not have the authority to refuse to include the Motions on the Agenda, and that you expect to see the Motions on the Agenda. I would do this by email and CC it to all Committee members and the Strata Manager.
- Only the Chairperson has the authority to rule Motions Out of Order. Motions can only be ruled Out of Order in a limited number of circumstances and the Secretary’s reasons for not including them on the Agenda (e.g. there is too much emphasis on “processes” and not enough on the issues involved) are not valid under the Act, and are not within the Secretary’s role to refuse to have included. See the circumstances below in (7).
- If the Motions are not on the Agenda then your next move is to propose them at the next meeting which it appears will be held by phone. Do this as early as possible in the Meeting. There will probably be an Agenda item about ‘Window locks’ or ‘Windows’ so this is where you will need to propose your Motions.
- Either of the other two members who support your Motion can Second the Motions. The 3 votes FOR the Motions should outnumber the 2 votes AGAINST the Motions. Your Motions should be PASSED.
- If one of your supporter Committee members cannot attend the meeting by phone then they can give you their proxy. Make sure that they comply with the regulations for proxies.
Access a form you can use from the Forms page on the Fair Trading website (or call 13 32 20 to ask for a copy).
Proxies must be given to the Secretary before or at the meeting. For large schemes, the proxy must be given to the Secretary at least 24 hours before the scheduled meeting. - The 2 members who are against the installation of the window locks are in serious Breach of the Legislation. Your Strata Manager knows this. The deadline for the installation has passed therefore your building is non-compliant. This will impact on your Insurance Liability.
- You, as Chairman can rule Out of Order any Motion that is raised by the Secretary or any other member to delay the installation of the window. A Motion to refuse to install the window locks or to delay the installation of the locks is a Motion that is in conflict with the Act. You have the authority to rule these types of Motions Out of Order under Section 15 in Schedule 2:
Section 15 Chairperson may rule certain motions out of order
The chairperson at a meeting may rule a motion out of order if the chairperson considers that the motion, if carried, would conflict with this Act or the by-laws of the strata scheme or would otherwise be unlawful or unenforceable.
- You should explain to the Secretary that the Committee cannot delay this installation on the mere off chance that the windows will be replaced. Any approval for the replacement of the windows in your building is likely to be a few months away at least, and there is no guarantee that approval to replace all of the windows will be PASSED at a General Meeting. The Secretary does not have a ‘crystal ball’, and nor can he predict the future!
- At this Meeting I suggest that you endeavour to remove the Secretary from their position as Secretary. They are wielding their power inappropriately and do not have sufficient knowledge of the Act.
- You would need to propose a Motion to remove the Secretary and propose another member to be the new Secretary. You will need a person to Second the Motion and of course, you will need your 3 votes FOR the Motion to form a majority and have the Motion PASSED.