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Hi Flat Chatters, my AGM’s coming up real soon and there are too many issues needing to be addressed to mention and ask about but, if you would be so kind, what can be done about the absentee landlady who turns up once a year and shouts things like “That’s rubbish” when something important is being discussed. She’s really destructive and says no to any spending. Other worse things happen, as you can imagine even blatant bullying, goading and provoking.
The Strata Manager who is chair should stop this behaviour of course but he never does. Actually, what might I, as a layman and bystander, do to keep things real, stop bad stuff going on. Is there a ‘motion’ or a ‘phrase’ I might use to stop some of this?
Should I, for example, ask the Strata Manager ahead of time to make an extra effort to keep things on the straight and narrow?
By the way, I am an owner currently not on the Executive Committee but this year I plan to get there early to see exactly what happens at the secret ‘meeting before the meeting’ of the clique.
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That would be ‘bustards‘ rather than buzzards, right?
But seriously, you could adopt a set of standing orders for meetings. In fact, I reckon we should have our own pro forma standing orders posted here so Flat Chat readers can adapt and adopt them. Any thoughts?
While you are all cogitating on that, how about a quiet word with the strata manager about shutting this person up by a) asking her to show some respect for other attendees when she interrupts; b) telling her she will be asked to leave the meeting if she persists; c) adjourning the meeting until she gives an undertaking to keep quiet (as an absentee owner, she won’t like the idea of having to come back again in two weeks or sit waiting for the meeting to resume).
I have heard some pretty outrageous methods of shutting up disruptive attendees at meetings. One building in Sydney used to have a large and muscly gym junkie owner who’d fly into ‘roid rage at the slightest provocation. Their only way of controlling him was to ask an even bigger bodybuilder tenant who went to the same gym. The tenant had no right to be at the meeting but a word from him would calm the nutter owner down. Dontcha just love strata!
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.
Perhaps find someone other than the managing agent to chair? In the ACT the chair has to be an owner and by default the chair of the EC unless that person declines or doesn’t show up. A manager might be good at all sorts of things without being a good meeting chair so perhaps it’s time to try someone else for that task?
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