Chair doing half the work of the property manager

There are many reasons committee officers choose to do the work of external managers themselves.  Often it’s a case of wanting to make a contribution or be hands-on, other times it’s about control.

If I were the professional manager I would be asking if my people were being given the opportunity to do the work, if they had failed to fulfil the terms of the contract and what would happen if the chair sold up or just couldn’t do it any more.

If I were on the committee, I’d be glad of the flexibility in this arrangement, knowing that ther was a fall-back when the voluntary work ended and a benchmark for what was expected of the managers in the future.

If this happened in my strata I would have major concerns in terms of transparency. 

The OC has a right to know the exact details of each and every deal and cash flow from its funds.  Have these been laid out?. 

I have no problem with members/owners doing work and being fairly remunerated. In many instances owners/members do unpaid/voluntary work for strata but this still needs to be transparent.

Does the Committee chair have any relationship with the management company, does the chair receive any benefits that are not disclosed? Why do they ‘informally’ agree surely the OC have a right and obligation to know (and approve) the details of this informal agreement.  

Your strata may be getting a great deal and everything is honest and fairly worked out.  On the other hand there maybe all sorts of underhanded deals and kickbacks going on.

If the OC makes enquiries it needs to be careful to put anyone offside or accuse them.  Indeed once the details are know the chair may be shown to be a great chair working diligently and saving the OC money.

This issue depends on how much of the original contracted duties of the Body Corporate Manager (BCM) the particular Committee member has taken over, what they have decided to take over, and why they have decided to take over.

Even though a BCM has a contract with the body corp to undertake certain duties this does not mean that the Committee are not permitted to assume their legislated roles ever again during the life of the BCM contract. The legislation permits the Committee to retain their roles should they feel the need to do so e.g. a Secretary may still call a meeting.

What I would be watchful of is the Committee chairperson taking on roles and functions that belong to other Committee members, such as the specific roles of the Secretary and/or the Treasurer. These roles are outside of the authority of the Chairperson. This, to me, would present more of a problem. 

Something that is not often understood by some Chairpersons is that although the title of ‘Chairperson’ sounds important the Chairperson himself/herself has a very a limited role in the Committee e.g. limited to Chairing the meetings. Both the Secretary and the Treasurer arguable having a far more significant and impactful role in calling meetings and in undertaking other administrative tasks.

The chairperson does not have more authority than anyone else on the committee.

Transparency is the key issue. Are the records being kept in a satisfactory manner now that the Chairperson has ‘taken over’? 

I have personally experienced situations where a dominant Chairperson tried to take over the roles of every other Executive Committee member, and the BCM. It was a not a pleasant couple of years!

As mentioned above the Chairperson does not have any more authority than any other committee member in any decision making, including a decision to take on maintenance roles.

There are lots of questions …….. Is the maintenance contract at your BC something that is agreed to each financial year at the AGM? If so then you can propose a Motion at the AGM that the remuneration of the maintenance contract be reduced to reflect the fact that some of the jobs are now not required.

What maintenance jobs is the Chairperson undertaking that were previously covered by the maintenance contract – gardening? sweeping? putting out the bins? Who is doing these jobs when (and if) the Chairperson becomes ill or is on holiday?

Is it on the record that the Committee has approved the Chairperson taking on some of the maintenance? Is the Chairperson being paid to undertake this work? What are the insurance implication? Is there a conflict of interest?

Try to get yourself elected to the Committee. If you are passionate about making your scheme a better place to live in then being on the Committee is the best place for you to be.

Also, if you don’t like the maintenance company that you are currently with then you are within your rights, as a Lot owner, to search for other companies and propose them as another alternative.This would need to happen via a Motion for the AGM.

@Flame Tree said:
Thinking I’ll shoot Motions for a few things I just can’t stand and seek to address the others that may just first require reasonable if robust negotiation. 

I tried that tactic a couple of years ago in my building and ended up just annoying people who wanted a quick meeting (as they all do).

The dictatorship in charge now uses that whenever they can to portray me as a trouble-maker rather than a problem solver.

My message – choose your battles carefully and don’t try to fight a war on too many fronts at the same time.