Question: How can our committee effectively address a disruptive member’s behaviour and maintain focus on our community’s priorities?
I live in a block of units in northern Victoria. A bitter dispute between our chair and a committee member is becoming increasingly prominent in our owners corporation (OC) committee work and communications to the detriment of making progress with other decisions. The member is quite rude and bullying towards the chair, who is trying to do their best, does a lot of work and is helpful.
The member has now raised a grievance meeting against the chair. The dispute is taking up too much OC time.
As the grievance meeting seems to have become a personal conflict, am I required to participate? Would my attendance be seen as encouraging the member rather than supporting the chair? I also feel like it’s an irrelevant issue from the past.
I am also considering resigning from the committee due to the detrimental impact this conflict is having on our community. Is this a wise decision, or are there other steps I can take to address the situation?
Answer: Nothing compels the committee to respond or acknowledge this person outside of voting on OC resolutions.
I assume the committee is conducting a grievance meeting because the ‘agitative’ member has lodged a formal complaint. If that’s the case, the OC committee needs to decide whether to ‘take action’ per Section 153 of the Owners Corporation Act 2006. You should attend to ensure you make an informed decision in that respect. It is not compulsory to attend, though.
Whether it be a formal or informal grievance meeting, you should attend so that you can hear both sides of the story. Being in attendance allows you to support the chair, speak to all the good things he is doing, and call out the disruptive behaviour of the other member. Possibly, the agitative member doesn’t understand the upset they’ve caused everyone, so this meeting is a good opportunity to get everything out in the open.
There is often a committee member or two who ruin it for everyone but I encourage you to hang in there. It’s important to remember that the agitative member can carry on all they like, but they only have one vote, and they’ll likely get tired of fighting if they don’t get the attention they’re seeking.
Some committees shut these types of members down by altering their communication style to be more direct. Rather than allowing generous preamble before making decisions (which allows the member to be disruptive), the chair can go directly to a yes/no vote for motions. If there is a majority vote in favour, the decision is final, so there is no need to engage in further discussion.
Whilst I don’t necessarily condone ignoring a committee member, there is nothing compelling you as a committee to respond or acknowledge this person outside of voting on OC resolutions. There is a risk that this approach will aggravate them further but if the committee sticks to it, I am confident the member will realise they’re fighting a losing battle and back down in due course.
Callum Wilson The Strata Shepherd E: info@thestratashepherd.com.au P: 0431 925 908