PLEASE NOTE: This petition is ONLY open to members of the Owners Corporation of the Dusk and Republic apartment buildings in Belconnen, Canberra. Tenants, associates, or members of the general public are not entitled to vote in relation to decisions of the Executive Committee or Owners Corporation.

The intention of this petition is for members of the Owners Corporation of Dusk and Republic to vote to revoke the decisions made at the Annual General Meeting held on 17 May 2022. Motions 5, 6 & 7 that Owners are disputing can be found at the bottom of this overview.
 
These decisions were made by a reduced quorum (members of the Executive Committee) and relate to a significant increase of both the Administrative and Sinking funds to be paid by the Owners Corporation for the following year (May 2022 - May 2023).
 
For the first two years of the building’s residency, the budget for both the Administrative and Sinking funds have run at an underspend. The reduced quorum decided to increase the Administrative fund by $235,983.24 for the following year, noting this increase includes a separate levy owners are now required to pay relating to common property in the precinct ($184,406.76). The reduced quorum also increased the Sinking fund by $407,560.36 as the result of adopting recommendations by an independent assessor, Rider Levett Bucknall (RLB). These recommendations outlined the items that would need future-proofing or fixing as the building ages or as a result of poor initial development.
 
As such, these decisions have resulted in Owner’s body corporate contributions rising an extra 60-65% per unit on the previous year. This is a substantial and unaffordable increase that petitioning owners would like revised.
 
Signing members of the Owners Corporation are requesting the Executive Committee provide a revised budget proposal that omits any unnecessary increase to the Administrative budget. Instead the revised budget should propose ways to more efficiently utilise the same, significant levy contribution made by owners in the first two years. Including, but not limited to, review of the strata management and other contractors and the services they offer. This review should audit service offerings and include a scan of other providers in the market to determine whether contractors are offering value for money.

An example of undesirable expenditure could be the allocation of funds to Strata Management to pursue Geocon for defects. Given that our current Strata Manager has been appointed as the Strata Management for multiple Geocon buildings, this could be perceived by the Owner’s Corporation as a conflict of interest. Furthermore, in the first two years, Owners have already been paying legal fees for solicitors who have been unable to reach an outcome with Geocon. Allocating extra resources (outside of ongoing legal expenses) to this cause would not be considered wise expenditure of funds by signing members of the Owners Corporation.

As for the Sinking Fund Report recommendations, Sinking fund increases should be covered to some degree by Administrative fund savings. The latest Sinking Fund report does not need to be adopted in full, as an initial report has already been completed prior to engaging the independent organisation (RLB). The revised budget proposal should prioritise recommendations that are considered “must haves” by the Owners Corporation. Consultation and communication with owners around these issues is paramount, and an AGM does not amount to sufficient consultation or communication. If required, a much smaller increase in levies to contribute to the Sinking fund budget could be considered by the Owners corporation; however, petitioning Owners are requesting a comprehensive review of the previous budget’s funds allocation and efforts to reduce expenditure to maintain levy contributions paid previously.
 

Motions 5, 6 & 7 carried at the AGM:
(please refer to AGM minutes for further context)
 
MOTION 5: It was resolved that the Owners Corporation adopt the Sinking Fund report dated 04 April 2022.
 
MOTION 6: It was resolved that the Administration Fund budget of $1,233,044.24 plus GST for the period 13 May 2022 to 12 May 2023 be adopted and that a contribution be determined to the Administration Fund equal to the sum of the budget, to be contributed by owners in accordance with their Units of Entitlement and payable by four equal instalments due on 14 June 2022, 14 September 2022, 14 December 2022 and 14 March 2023.
 
MOTION 7: It was resolved that a contribution of $531,911 plus GST as per the Sinking Fund Forecast Report be determined to the Sinking Fund for the period 13 May 2022 to 12 May 2023 to be contributed by owners in accordance with their Units of Entitlement and payable by four equal instalments due on 14 June 2022, 14 September 2022, 14 December 2022 and 14 March 2023.