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Topic
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Our large Sydney Strata Plan has an Executive Committee (EC) of 5.
At least 2 quotations are circulated to all EC members for work or expenditure requirements and the majority rules. We would like to be able to request unanimous EC approval for larger quotations eg for all expenditure over $10,000.
Obviously there are really strange things occurring to require such a ruling. Our Strata Manager (SM) says we are unable to do this, all quotations must be approved on a majority/minority basis.
Is our SM correct or could we just “minute” a new protocol. (Don’t want to go down a special by-law route.)
Many thanks.
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Replies
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Most of the time an EC in my experience can reach a consensus on most matters. However, sometimes you just have to out-vote a dissenting view. Sometimes I am outvoted.
If a majority of the EC resolve to accept a particular quote, I would say that should be it. If one or two members of the EC preferred the other quote for some reason, then presumably they had the opportunity to put their case but failed to persuade a majority.
Sometimes you get people with odd views. Requiring unanimity could be a recipe for paralysis.
Cappy – your Strata Manager is right, and so is Peter about tighter controls on the majority of the Executive Committee (which is what you’re after) having the potential to paralyse your Owners Corporation’s (O/C) decision making process.
One way forward is to cautiously exercise the compulsory Motion on the Agenda for each Annual General Meeting where those present can elect to have decisions on certain items or types of matters determined only by the O/C (and not its Executive Committee) at a General Meeting.
That process, if properly considered and then passed by a majority, would enable whatever degree of control that is conservatively deemed necessary to be implemented, but again a word of caution about the potential for the resultant General Meetings that may result giving rise to both paralysis of the O/C’s decision making process and indifference by Owners.
A further option to achieve better control is to insist that the approved annual budgets list as many items (accounts) and associated expenditures as are necessary and anticipated, and avoid generic / catch-all items such as “general repairs” and “plumbing” maintenance”. As an example in our Plan, the historic admin. budget for “grounds maintenance” into which a plethora of expenditures was historically dumped, was replaced with “lawn maintenance”, “garden maintenance”, “cleaning”, and “maintenance of shared facilities”.
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