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I can sympathise with Struggler's experience, but take a slightly different approach. Last year I rejoined our EC – having backed off a few years ago due to other commitments and a lack of desire to deal with one very destructive EC member. Didn't really have much choice but to rejoin the EC, because our former strata manager was doing anything other than managing our unit complex competently. Several owners realised we needed an injection of new EC members who could be more assertive to ensure things get done.
Having been snowed under before, I was determined not to carry the whole EC work load… and to ensure that owners realise that THEY are the strata/owners corporation.
Our EC agreed early on that part of our job was to help make our unit complex a pleasant place to live, where residents get on well, without living in each each others' pockets.
We started posting regular notices to residents on our noticeboards. These inform residents about the things they need to know, and purposely avoid the lecturing tone I've seen here (when I first moved in) and elsewhere. Notices regularly remind people to contact the strata manager or rental agent with maintenance requests, and invite residents to leave written suggestions and complaints in the secretary's letterbox.
I know the names of most people who live here, mainly because I routinely say hello and smile at other residents when I see them in the garage, etc. That's the easy bit.
I knew I'd be doing a lot of work as secretary, but treated that as an investment in the future value of our unit. That load will reduce over time once long neglected issues are sorted out. I've also told EC members there is a limit to how many years I'll be involved – so some of them are learning new skills to prepare for that future.
In less than a year, we've sacked the incompetent and rude strata manager (who had this place for nearly 30 years), sorted out several urgent repairs and conducted an audit of outstanding maintenance issues. There's still a lot of work to do, but you can already see the difference we've made to the place.
Sometimes it's a pain having to deal with strata stuff, but mostly it's rewarding to see the progress we're making. There are some issues which I choose to ignore in the interests of getting more important things done.
And, of course, the best ways to reduce the stress on EC members are to share around the responsibilities and to ensure you encourage other unit owners to participate and be informed… The more people you get involved, the less the workload and the more likely someone new will eventually join the committee.