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Following on from my post about our recent AGM where I asked why our new four thousand dollar set of by-laws hadn’t been circulated after a year, and being told by our Strata Manager / Chairman there is ‘no requirement’ to do this under Act (NSW), he now tells me there is ‘no requirement’ to send the minutes to owners within a certain time and we’ll get them when he’s good and ready (I do paraphrase but he was unnecessarily curt).
For 20 years we’ve always been sent them within the week and now it’s been two. What’s the norm please, do you think?
We’re 40 Lots, lots of contentious issues, lots of proxies, lots of angst.
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That’s right – there is no requirement to send the AGM minutes within a certain time. I don’t think there is a norm. When we do ours I tell the manager to send them to me in draft form so I can finalise them (I’m the secretary). In many cases they are not provided until the notice of the next GM.
Note that the actual minutes are subject to a resolution at the next meeting that they are the true and correct record of the proceedings and to that extent they are not finalised minutes, so if they are wrong then it would be good practice to send them out say within a month. We had one instance where the levies were recorded incorrectly in the minutes, and the stupid strata manager made us have an EGM to correct them at our expense, even though they had made the mistake.
You could put up a motion at the next GM providing that the OC will provide the draft minutes to owners within a certain time.
You refer to “Strata Manager / Chairman”.
Is this the same person?
Do you have an external Strata Manager?
Scotlandx is correct … whilst the Act requires EC minutes to be put on the noticeboard within 7 days, there is no requirement for GM minutes to be distributed until the notice of the next GM.
This is probably something the Strata Review will fix, but who know when that will happen … certainly not by March 2013 as promised.
Your Strata Manager is sh*t. A good SM will distribute the (draft) minutes within 7-10 days of the meeting, even though the Act doesn’t (yet) require it.
So, what can you do?
1) Inspect the strata records. Small cost, $30. Minutes must be made available.
2) Get 25% of owners (10+ in your case) to request an EGM. The minutes of the last GM must be attached to the Notice of Meeting for the requested EGM.
3) Of course you must submit a motion to be voted on at the EGM. How about “That the Owners Corporation resolve to erect a flag pole on the common property”. No wait, the meeting might just vote yes. How about “That the Owners Corporation resolve that red is a nicer colour than blue”. Who cares if you lose, you get to see the minutes. Who cares if the Chairman rules the motion “out of order” as frivolous, the meeting must be called, and you get to see the minutes.
A couple of points. The new by-laws would have been sent out with the agenda so you should already have them. Nonetheless, any half-decent strata manager would have issued the new by-laws to all owners and residents. A simple motion to the next EC meeting instructing the SM to
Reissue the bylaws so landlords can fulfil their statutory duty to issue tenants with the latest by-law changes should do the trick
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