Question: Our committee refuses to let the body corporate manager upload the building manager’s report to the portal, even after tabling it at a meeting. Should it be circulated to owners with the minutes?
If a building manager’s report is tabled at a committee meeting, should it also be circulated with the minutes in its entirety? The committee has refused to allow the body corporate manager to upload these to the portal for owners to access.
Answer: There’s no legal obligation to circulate the report, but committees that withhold it invite scrutiny.
There is no obligation for the committee to send out the report, but why wouldn’t you? Some committees may be concerned about disbursement costs, but you say that the committee refuses even to allow the report to be posted on the portal. Committees that seek to limit this kind of basic information disclosure will reasonably find themselves questioned, as owners will wonder what the secret information is that only the committee can see.
Maybe there are specific circumstances as to why the report may not be presentable, but if owners are asking questions about this, the committee should advise. Otherwise, as an owner, you could arrange to do a search of the books and records and access the report that way. Perhaps you could ask the building manager for a copy.
Maybe you could submit a committee motion or motion to the next general meeting asking for these documents to be sent to owners with the minutes, or at least posted online. And, if you really want things to be different, perhaps you could nominate for the committee at the next opportunity and start changing the way your scheme is being run.
This post appears in Strata News #807.
William Marquand Tower Body Corporate E: willmarquand@towerbodycorporate.com.au P: 07 5609 4924
