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  • #11639
    bim
    Flatchatter

      I have formally objected to the minutes of our last exec. com. meeting but these minutes were sent out without any discussion.  Our committee consisted at this time of five members.   Four of these members were present and the chairperson held the proxy of the absent member.  What can I do about such autocratic behaviour?

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    • #29382
      Lady Penelope
      Strataguru

        bim – Can you please provide some additional information?

        What was it about the Minutes that you did not like? Do you believe they were an inaccurate representation of what occurred at the Meeting, or was there something else that displeased you? 

        #29406
        Stevecro
        Flatchatter

          The legislation doesn’t state that minutes of a strata committee need to be confirmed. There is no set process for objecting to minutes in this situation. The easiest way would be to simply write to the strata committee or strata manager (if you have one) and state your objections in an email or letter. Any correspondence sent to the owners corporation must be stored in the records for everyone else to view, should they inspect the records of the OC.

          #29407
          Lady Penelope
          Strataguru

            Stevecro – It is one of the many duties of the Secretary to propose a motion to confirm the previous minutes. If this power has been delegated to the Strata Manager then the SM must propose this motion.

            Below is an extract from the Office of Fair Trading:

            Powers and duties of the Secretary 

            The powers and duties of the Secretary of an owners corporation include:

            • preparing and giving minutes of meetings and putting a motion to confirm the previous minutes
            • giving notices for the owners corporation and its strata committee
            • keeping the strata roll
            • giving information to a person for the owners corporation under section 184
            • answering correspondence addressed to the owners corporation
            • convening meetings of the owners corporation and its strata committee (apart from its first AGM)
            • doing all administrative and secretarial duties for the owners corporation and the strata committee

            Confirmation of the previous Minutes is the first order of business on the Agenda and is Resolved via a vote. Confirmation of the Minutes is recorded as:

            “RESOLVED that the minutes of the Body Corporate Committee Meeting held on XX XX XX be confirmed as a true and correct record of the proceedings of that meeting.” 

            #29409
            Stevecro
            Flatchatter

              Lady Penelope, yes a duty of the secretary is to put a motion to confirm the previous minutes for general meetings only (AGM’s & EGM’s). The Act does not specify any mandatory motions for strata committee meetings.

              The Act only specifies mandatory motions for AGM’s and other general meetings (EGM’s), where as mentioned above, the Secretary must add a motion to confirm the minutes of the previous meeting.

              Many people assume because you confirm meeting minutes for general meetings, this must also apply for strata committee meetings, which in my view, isn’t the case. That said, it isn’t a bad idea to adopt such a practice.

              #29463
              Mr Strata
              Flatchatter

                Hi Guys, shouldn’t we stay focused on the questions at hand as to objections as to the contents of the minutes and the autocratic nature of how the commitee is functioning.

                A simple letter to the Secretary and Strata Manager would normally assist with this as it is then on the record of the Owners Corporation.

                However if you object to a decision that the committee has made, you need 1/3rd of owners to object to the decision or 1/4 of UEs to call a general meeting

                #29469
                Sir Humphrey
                Strataguru

                  @Mr Strata said:
                  Hi Guys, shouldn’t we stay focused on the questions at hand as to objections as to the contents of the minutes and the autocratic nature of how the commitee is functioning.

                  A simple letter to the Secretary and Strata Manager would normally assist with this as it is then on the record of the Owners Corporation.

                  However if you object to a decision that the committee has made, you need 1/3rd of owners to object to the decision or 1/4 of UEs to call a general meeting  

                  It is still not clear what the objection to the minutes is or how the EC is being autocratic. Was Bim present at the meeting? Is Bim one of the EC members? Does Bim think the minutes inaccurately record the meeting? Is Bim involved in a dispute and the minutes don’t (in Bim’s opinion) record his/her side of the story in all its detail? Does Bim object that the minutes, while accurate enough, are just embarrassing and need not have spelled out the details?

                  In any case, a letter setting out the objections seems like good advice. 

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