Reply To: Undisclosed payments to Strata Committee member

Hi VicRes

You mention

So if the treasurer paid $10,000 and then received a refund of $10,000 do they still owe the $1,000 in levies?

Allow me to clarify: Tsr paid $10,000 then $1,000. Two months later the $10,000 was refunded (or so it seems). The $1,000 was the correct levy due.

It would be interesting to see exactly how the transaction was processed. Was it returned to the same account from which it came? Paid in cash? Or transferred to a third account?

The document I found, ie the Tsr’s levy ledger, does not answer your queries. Should I ask the new managing agent to inspect the records in her possession to answer your queries?

If transferred to a third account it could be viewed as money laundering with the money initially coming from the treasurer’s account to a ‘clean’ business account (the OCs) and going to a third account where there needs to be ‘honest money‘.

I do not believe it. You Sir (or is it Ma’am) are a mind reader. I asked myself that question when I saw the $10,000 was paid by the Tsr just before financial year end.

If cash was involved at any stage then there are huge red flags and follow up is required.

Could the new managing agent when inspecting the records determine if pmts to/from the strata’s accounts were in cash or not? Could the managing agent ascertain if the a/c the $10,000 was paid from is the same as where it was refunded to? Can I compel the managing agent to investigate this important issue? What if the SC forbid her or discourage her from investigating this? After all she reports to them.

Does the strata manger have the authority to withdraw that much (if any) money? If there is a requirement for a second approval was the treasurer the person who gave that second authority? If so there is a huge conflict of interest noting their initial payment of that amount

I know that anything >$500 [or so] cannot be withdrawn/paid by the ex-managing agent without approval by the SC, which in fact means the Tsr because the Chair is a rubber stamp. So your point on conflict of interest is a valid and a good one.

Finally, is this query related to another of your threads?

Yes, in as much as it relates to the same managing agent, but no, as I am also interested in the levy ledgers of all proprietors given some are slow to pay (in fact at times they are unfinancial) but that fact is hidden by the SC from the OC, for reasons unknown.