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Hi All
I have just received our AGM agenda for our next AGM in 2 weeks time. We are in NSW and we have 36 lots in our scheme
There have been a few motions included from lot owners. These motions did not come via the Strata committee
The chairperson of the Strata Committee has independently of the SC put there own comments under each of the motions : [ the same comment each time in capitals]
“THE CHAIRMAN OF THE STRATA COMMITTEE ADVISED THAT IS MOTION IS OUT OF ORDER. THIS WILL BE ADDRESSED AT THE MEETING”.
An example of a motion is :
“INFORMATION NIGHTS
That the Owners Corporation resolve by ordinary resolution to have Owner Information nights at least every
three to four months annually where notice of such meetings is provided at least four weeks in advance
Explanatory notes
Due to the proposed remediation works it is in the interests of all Owners to be able to attend regular meetings to further their understanding of any works.”As a backgound we have significant remedial works needed over the next 3-5 years costing in excess of $4m and owners outside of the SC would like more regular updates & opportunity to ask questions.
My questions are :
Does the Chairperson have the authority to put their own comments about a motion in the AGM agenda bypassing the SC ?
If comment about a motion can be added to an AGM Agenda can anyone [ other SC members or owners] add a comment ?
When votes are counted for a motion in AGM / EGM should the minutes show the for /against number of votes for each motion or just ” resovled” or “motion defeated” ?
thanks in advance
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Having been to countless AGM of several different stratas, I have seen that a strata manager or secretary will allow (but rarely invite) any owner who wants to submit a motion or motions for a meeting to do so and will allow the owner who is providing the motion(s) to add an explanation to the motion(s) in a few lines, if he/she wants to explain it/them.
The motion followed by the explanation will both appear in the agenda. This is to help readers better understand what the motion is about.
At times, a committee member or two may disagree with what the motion seeks to do or maybe hostile to the owner providing the motion and I have seen committee members voice their disapproval (or worse) at the meeting. But never have I seen anyone but the person providing the motion provide the explanatory notes in the agenda. I have often seen motions w/out explanations in the agenda and frankly that is a lost opportunity for he/she providing the motions.
As to how the votes are recorded, many strata managers adhere to the simple “resolved” or “defeated” option. You can however ask – and in my experience such a request has never been refused – that votes be recorded by lot number instead of a simple “resolved” or “defeated”. You must do so at the beginning of the meeting.
A motion can only be ruled out of order if it conflicts with strata law, or your by-laws or would be illegal or unenforceable. To ask for a motion to be considered at a general meeting, anyone who is able to vote at that meeting should provide the secretary of the committee (usually via the strata manager) the content of the motion in writing, identifying themselves, and adding an explanatory note of up to 300 words.
Either they failed to provide any explanatory note, or the secretary added their own note, (which is probably not ideal, but at least they identified this themselves.)
I’m guessing that the chair or secretary is indicating the motion will be ruled out of order because it is “unenforceable”? The example motion you provided is not well worded. There is not enough detail and is too vague, and so if the motion, in its current form, were approved, then the OC would not be able to carry it out. That motion needs more details – who is to organise the meeting, where and when is it to be held, what will be on the agenda, and who will cover the costs of the meeting? A better example would be “The OC will instruct and pay for the strata manager to organise a meeting to discuss the planned remedial works on the first Monday of the month, every 4 months, beginning in June, to be held at their premises, and broadcast via Zoom, from 4 pm, to last at most 1 hour. All owners and residents will be invited, and reminded about the meeting a week, and a day in advance, and the secretary, or another member, of the strata committee will be tasked to provide a 10 minute update on the progress of the works. Additional discussion points will be solicited a week in advance, and the agenda will be notified to all invitees at least 3 days beforehand. The strata manager will provide an estimate of the cost of this arrangement, which is likely to be $600 per meeting.”
That’s a quick attempt at a valid motion – the actual way of carrying out the task, and its cost, will need to be specified, in order that owners can make a decision about it. Meetings don’t organise themselves, and the organisers may not want to devote the time – it is not valid for owners to speculate that other people will want to do this, and also someone, which will probably be the owners, will need to fund all this.
However, at the general meeting, it is possible to amend the motion, and so if the proposer involved wants to do so, then they can provide a valid and better worded motion as an amendment, which will be able to be voted on. The strata manager will be happy to help draft a valid motion, I suspect, but the proposer of the motion will probably have the best chance of getting it agreed to, if they do a lot of the work, and minimise the costs involved, by doing the legwork themselves.You can however ask – and in my experience such a request has never been refused – that votes be recorded by lot number instead of a simple “resolved” or “defeated”. You must do so at the beginning of the meeting.
In NSW an owner can call for a “poll” vote at any point, even after a show of hands has been taken. A poll vote, based on unit entitlements, would by necessity record which lots voted in which way.
The opinions offered in these Forum posts and replies are not intended to be taken as legal advice. Readers with serious issues should consult experienced strata lawyers.
Quirky makes a good point where he mentions that “at the general meeting, it is possible to amend the motion”.
He advises that some legwork ahead of the meeting will be needed, in order to get the text of the motion right.
Anyone not just the proposer can at the meeting offer to amend the motion, but it would help for the proposer of the amendment to discuss the changes before the meeting with others.
Alternatively, the person proposing the motion (as listed in the agenda) can also withdraw it a general meeting. I have seen this done numerous times for various reasons.
Withdrawing may be a popular decision because that will give everyone time to come up with alternative text for the motion, which could be considered at a future general meeting.
Nobody gains by amending on the hop, especially when holes in the listed motion are shown to be large enough to drive a tractor through.
Have they been holding properly-announced formal committee meetings? If not, that’s something that you must get changed. If there are formal meetings, wouldn’t it be simpler to attend the meetings rather than push for separate meetings to review formal committee meetings? The chair can but doesn’t have to let you speak at formal committee meetings.
Possible downside of attending formal SC meetings rather than special regularly scheduled meetings is that you can’t control SC meetings actually being scheduled, and you have to be voted by a majority of the committee to be able to speak .
Why is there a need to have such a motion in the first place.
There is no restriction in the act to prevent information nights being held.
The committee can just decide ad hoc when and where such an information night is held.
Why is there a need to have such a motion in the first place.
From the original post, it would seem that committee has not been forthcoming with information. A motion to a general meeting would compel them to do so. And don’t forget that committee members can be remove by a simple majority vote at a general meeting if they fail to compluy.
The opinions offered in these Forum posts and replies are not intended to be taken as legal advice. Readers with serious issues should consult experienced strata lawyers.
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