Your SM is just ripping you off by getting a property manager to do his job for him (he has been able to get away with it whilst your couple did his job for him) now he wants you to fork out for a building manager who will charge for his services and then employ someone to do the work (which strata will also pay for).
Dump your current SM and get one who will do a combined service or keep him and look in your local paper for a handyman who will do some of these tasks at a fraction of the cost. You can vote to authorize him to spend up to $xxx (replace light bulbs) on minor repairs and anything beyond this needs EC or OC approval.
The chances of the SM reducing his fees are miniscule IMHO.