Dear FlatChatFan, we don’t have a secretary other than the SM himself, even though we do have an EC. I have been discussing this issue & seeking opinions in another topic entitled “chairing an AGM”, in the lead up to our AGM on 24/11/12. It is quite detailed to explain here. Please feel free to read it & give me your opinion and/or advice. I will be seeking to inspect the records held by the SM, as soon as I get a copy of his contract, because I think it will throw up more questions for me ask. Due to the cost involved, I don’t want to have to do it more than once (my husband & I are retirees). I would also like to add (since this forum is funded by SM companies among others) that I don’t have anything against SMs in general. I realise they deal with the nightmarish side of bureaucracy & do it admirably. I also realise that every owner ringing them up demanding answers and/or making complaints & generally whining, would make their businesses unworkable. The way to solve that problem would be to have copies of all of the documents they hold available through a properly run EC & keep notice boards. The more secretive they are, the more curious & suspicious we get, from my own experience & others’ I have read in this forum. In my opinion, no honest business needs to be secretive.