Executive Cttee & irregular use of funds

This is about ACT strata; I hope you can help with guidance about what I can do.

I own a town house in a large complex of town houses.  At the recent AGM I questioned the Executive Committee (EC) having paid more than $3,000 out of our Sinking Fund for what is a garden project external to the complex – that is, on the nature strip, not common property, and outside the complex’s boundaries.  As I understand it, the Sinking Fund can be used only for replacement, repair,  renewal etc or other capital expense relating to the common property (s69(3)).

This project has been the subject of many meetings, & there seems to be no common ground (sorry, pun).  It is reasonably likely that the ACT government would not care (or even notice) and a couple of small gardens have been established outside the boundary fence by individual owners.  Other owners have a street frontage which is opposite a school so the nature strip there is often used for parking by students and their parents.

The EC was quite defensive, of the “it’s our money and we can spend it how we want” variety;  from which they eventually appeared to back down.  There has been no indication of willingness to have the money repaid to the Sinking Fund.  They now propose to use the administrative fund or a special levy to fund this project, which has grown to somewhere between $25,000 and $70,000.

My understanding is that of the General Funds (s59) (administrative or special purpose funds), the administrative fund is intended to be limited to the “general administration of the corporation” (and so not outside the boundaries?), so would not include the proposed external gardens.  However, the wording is a bit vague, and the “special purpose fund” does not seem to have any limitations other than its purpose not being changed other than by special resolution.

We are self-managed, managing agents being thin on the ground and very expensive here.

Thank you for your time and consideration.  I live reading your columns in the Saturday SMH.