Do we really have a Secretary

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  • 29/11/2015 at 6:29 pm #10247
    Enough of Strata
    Flatchatter

      Hi,

      I have a Unit in Sydney and the following Minutes of the ECM were recorded on 9/12/2014 @ 6:25PM: Following the Annual General Meeting

      Owners Present: 10 (Lot No’s given) Chairperson: Strata Manager [named]

      It was agreed by owners present to appoint (named person -Lot#) be the spokesperson on behalf of the Executive Committee.

      No meeting was held on the day as there had been no previous meeting held therefore no minutes to confirm.

      There being no further business meeting closed at 6:30PM

      (xxxx – Chairperson)

      **In fact this meeting did not actually happen even agreed by one of the current EC members.

      Exactly the same format was recorded for  ECM’s following AGM’s on 26/11/2013; 11/12/2012 and 30/11/2011 (& probably prior years)

      Earlier this year (March 2015) I raised this with the two EC members and advised that under the Act that they should elect a Chairperson, Secretary and Treasurer, (which had clearly not been done) and that any decisions of the EC should be at meetings arranged with a Notice to a Notice Board (of which there was none) and the Minutes should be posted on the notice board after the meetings.

      I also sought advice of who was the current Secretary & Treasurer, being told later that according to the records of the Strata Manager the current EC members were based on records from prior years.

      On the basis that (to my knowledge) the office bearers are to be elected   year I found that explanation lacking credibility, but hoped it would be rectified going forward. 

      As the next AGM is now due, can you advise if currently, does the Strata have a Secretary Treasurer & Chairperson up to and including the AGM or just a Delegate in the form of the Strata Manager & what action (if any would you suggest). There is currently an EC Meeting  motion to elect those office holders.

      I formed the opinion the Strata Manager is not up to the job, and the EC as it is has little idea also, and really should not continue.  Any suggestions?

       I am a country based owner and its impractical to be elected to the EC myself.

      Thanks;

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    • 30/11/2015 at 3:54 pm #24227
      Jimmy-T
      Keymaster

        @Winston said:
        As the next AGM is now due, can you advise if currently, does the Strata have a Secretary Treasurer & Chairperson up to and including the AGM or just a Delegate in the form of the Strata Manager & what action (if any would you suggest). There is currently an EC Meeting  motion to elect those office holders.

        This is a fairly confusing question.  What do you mean by “the Strata”?  If you mean the strata scheme or owners corporation, then did you mean to ask if the committee must have office-bearers?

        The simple answer is that the law says that an EC, in the first meeting after its elected – i.e. the first meeting after each AGM – it must appoint someone to those roles (it could be one person doing all of them).

        If the EC fails to do so, an owner can apply to NCAT (under Section 19 of the Act) to order the EC to hold a meeting to appoint someone into those roles.

        Normally, an EC where no one wants to fulfill any or all of those roles will delegate them to their strata manager.  However, if an office-bearer is subsequently elected, they can resume those responsibilities from the SM. 

        I formed the opinion the Strata Manager is not up to the job, and the EC as it is has little idea also, and really should not continue.  Any suggestions?

        This is a different question entirely and the first thing you need to do is establish the terms of the strata manager’s contract.  If they haven’t breached the contract, your opinion isn’t going to make much difference.  However, if the contract is up for renewal in the near future, you can start trying to persuade your fellow owners that it is time for a change.

        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.
        30/11/2015 at 11:15 pm #24231
        Enough of Strata
        Flatchatter
        Chat-starter

          Thanks Jimmy,

          In relation to the Minutes of the EC Meetings – please take  time to examine the text slowly:

          It says that a meeting commenced (time given), had 10 attendees, and a chairperson (the Strata Mgr) and the meeting attendees (Lot owners) –  appointed a Spokesperson for the EC (who I add was a just re-elected EC member).

          In the next sentence it says:  “No meeting was held on the day as there had been no previous meeting held therefore no minutes to confirm.” 

          Then the meeting was closed:

          I cannot reconcile that  “No meeting was held on  the day” is consistent with the statement immediately above that a meeting was held and a spokesperson for the EC nominated.     One statement in the minutes  contradicts the other.

          As there was no Secretary/ Treasurer/ Chairperson election Motion according to the minutes to me no-one therefore was elected.  

          You say:  “If the EC fails to do so, an owner can apply to NCAT (under Section 19 of the Act) to order the EC to hold a meeting to appoint someone into those roles.”   That is correct, however no one previously has read the minutes carefully & understood the implications / sought to do anything about it.

          So this to me means automatically that the Sec/Treasurer/Chairperson for the Owners Corp (over the last 5 years) appears to have been the Strata Manager under delegation, as no EC member was elected to any of those positions.  – Is that also your view?

          If so it reflects poorly on the Strata Manager in my view, as this person should have made sure the Election motion was put as per Section 16 . 

          I understand that there are no records of Executive Committee Meeting minutes up to todays date, other than those following the AGM’s. something the Strata Manager should also have been on top of but clearly was not, and is a bag of worms.

          In reality what happened in the past should probably stay there but being aware of the past issues will be useful for the AGM next week.

          You asked about the details of the Strata Managers Contract. It is on a 30 day notice period after about 10 years. The current EC members do not want to change, and I am not sure if it would also pass as a Motion at an EGM or the AGM 1 year  from now (It is not currently an agenda item).

          My thinking is to nominate that the Executive Committee have NIL members hoping to not get the Current EC members re-elected, leave the Strata Manager the affairs and leave time to gather support for a change of Strata Manager.

          Hope this is clearer.

          02/12/2015 at 10:08 am #24237
          Jimmy-T
          Keymaster


            @Winston             said:
            Thanks Jimmy,

            In relation to the Minutes of the EC Meetings – please take  time to examine the text slowly:

            Winston, maybe you should take the time to read the rules of this website SLOWLY before you post your insulting messages .

            You have posted variations of the same questions in a number of topics.  This is not only arrogant, annoying and a waste of time – with various moderators on this website thinking your questions hadn’t been answered and others thinking they had –  it is a violation of the rules of the website.

            Consider yourself suspended for 7 days.

            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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