The condo is fourteen years old and
is a nice building, well
maintained. The property management company,
a subsidiary of the
builder, manages the two condos and the shared
facilities.
About 85% of the residents are Chinese-Canadians and Chinese
citizens,
of which 70% do not speak English. Most are seniors.
Our
protagonist
Bill
is a Chinese-Canadian who has spent many years and a lot of his own
money working with well-respected international charities. This has
taught him the importance of spending other peoples' money wisely and
ethically.
In the spring of 2012, Bill decided
that he would like to run for a position on his condo's board of
directors and so he submitted his application to the board informing
him of his interest.
Board's
reaction
The president of the board, knocked on Bill's door to inform
him that
the board has long-serving members and his offer to help was not
required.
Ignoring this suggestion that he was not welcome, when the notice
arrived announcing the upcoming AGM, Bill submitted his name
as a
candidate and included a bilingual resume to be enclosed with the AGM
package.
AGM
package
When Bill received his AGM package, he saw that his resume was
included
but that it had been altered. The Chinese half of his letter,
and another Chinese candidate's letter, had been cut off.
Bill complained to the property manager but was blown
off. Only after
he complained to the management company's district manager
was a second
package sent out to all the owners containing the two
challengers'
original resumes.
The
AGM
Prior to the meeting, the superintendent collects the
proxies from the
Chinese residents and tells them that if they do
not know how to fill
in the form, that is okay, just sign your names and
we will fill
in the rest of the rest for you.
So thoughtful; so helpful.
There are two new candidates running for the board; Bill and a man we
will call Paul. The ballots have been collected
and the scrutineers
start counting. Bill is ahead of the incumbent by two votes.
It is now time to refer to the condo's bylaws, Method of Voting (vi)
(e):
"When
all the ballots have been deposited into the ballot box the
scrutineers shall
then tabulate the votes for and against the matter being voted upon. In
the event the vote is not decided by the ballots cast,
the Board shall
collect any outstanding ballots until the vote is conclusive either in
favour of or against."
Isn't that something? Unbelievable. I never saw that in any
legitimate meeting rules that I have ever come across.
So, Bill won by two votes. When she
hears the results, the property
manager says: I made a mistake. I have a few votes in my pocket. She
adds two ballots to the count.
Now it is a tie. The district manager counts the votes. Then counts
them a second time. Then he says: "One more time." The
ballots are
counted twelve times. The count does not change.
Bill asks the district manager to ask the corporation
lawyer for a
ruling on these two added ballots. The lawyer confirmed that the two
ballots, that came out of the property manager's pocket, are
invalid.
Bill won a seat on the board.
Unwelcome
suggestion
As I wrote above, Bill has experience working with non-profit
corporations so when he joined the board he asked to see the condo's
list of assets. There wasn't one. The two new members demanded that the
manager and the supervisor start complying one. They refused.
Unseating
the president
The two new board members, along with a third member who secretly
talked with them, voted to replace the president with Paul and the
other member became the treasurer. Bill was sure that this would be an
improvement.
A
couple old feuds
A woman, who lived in a unit above Paul, played the piano and Paul
complained to the manager that the piano music was interfering with his
quiet enjoyment of his unit. The manager ignored him. Then the manager
suggested that the board hire an engineer to take noise readings. If
the noise was within the building code guidelines, Paul will pay the
cost of the test. If the noise level exceeded the building code
guidelines, then the woman would pay. Paul did not like this.
Apparently, the superintendent, who worked for the condo for the last
ten years, had a dispute with Paul when they both were together in
another building.
Once he became president, Paul had the management company transfer the
manager to a different building and had the superintendent terminated.
The
new property manager
The district manager assigned an interim manager to the building. She
was new to the industry and was taking courses to obtain her RCM
certification. Her employer was paying 50% of her tuition fees.
Paul told her of his problem with the noise from the woman's piano. The
new manager sends the owner a threatening letter. Then, the manager had
the ceramic tile on the woman's condo floor replaced.
Paul was pleased. He decided that the new interim manager would become
the condo's replacement manager. Additionally, he proposed that the
condo pay the manager the other 50% of her tuition.
Bill objected. He took the position that she was the management
company's employee and that the condo should not be picking up this
expense. His arguments were ignored.
The
new superintendent
In September 2012, a new superintendent was hired and he moved into the
superintendent suite. He does not speak Chinese but he works well and
the residents like him.
He has two children but has no car so he finds that shopping and
running family errands is very inconvenient at this building.
He worked for the same property management company in another building
so he asks another district manager if he knows of any openings as he
is planning to quit due to his transportation problems.
That district manager tells our condo's district manager that the
superintendent is looking for another position. Our district manager
tells the board to fire the superintendent.
Bill is opposed. It is the end of November and Christmas will be here
soon. Bill and two other directors vote against the motion to fire the
new superintendent.
The next morning, the district manager talked the old president into
changing his vote. Then the president calls an emergency board meeting.
A second motion to fire the superintendent is tabled.
Bill asks the old president why he changed his position. The district
manager accused Bill of interrogating the old president and stopped the
discussion. The district manager was belligerent. In early December, a
motion to fire their superintendent is passed.
The superintendent gets a pink slip as his Christmas gift.
Complaint
to the management company
The only woman director complained to the property company's president
about the district manager's behaviour. Bill also sends a letter of
complaint to the property management company.
Bill informs the company's vice-president about their district
manager's unacceptable behaviour at the 03 December meeting and states
that it reflects poorly on the company.
Paint
The hallways and the exterior doors were starting to look scruffy due
to building getting older and the number of renters moving in and out.
The board decides to paint the unit's hallway doors. The past-president
decided that they need a sample so his door will be done first.
Before he was elected to the board, Bill wondered why one of the ground
floor guest suite doors wasn't done as a sample as then all the owners
will be better able to see it. Once he read the old board minutes, he
understood what had happened.
The past-president's door was painted and the project was then
forgotten.
Paul changes
Once he got on the board and he saw the power that the position offers,
Paul's attitude changed. The property manager flatters him and
they
work well together.
Gym
equipment
The president suggests that the board replace a machine in the fitness
room with a new one and that the old one be given away. Bill suggests
that the old machine, a corporation's asset, be sold at an auction.
Bill's suggestion was approved by the board. There was no
auction, the
machine was given away.
The president wanted to buy heavy weights for the fitness room. Bill
objected, as it will get little use in a building full of seniors.
The property manager says that the board does not have to vote on this
as she is authorized to spend up to $1000 without the board's approval
so she said she bought the weights.
Fire alarm announcements
For years, the fire alarm testing announcements were made in English
and then in Chinese. Then this was stopped and the announcements were
made only in English.
Bill objected, as a majority of the residents do not understand
English. Paul called the condo lawyer to get a legal opinion.
The lawyer responds that English and French are the two official
languages and that if an error was made in the Chinese language, the
corporation could be held responsible in case of death, injury or
property damage.
The corporation could say, in
Chinese, as part of the message, that the
people should follow the instructions the English message, as that is
the official message and the Chinese version includes a disclaimer
stating that corporation is not liable for any errors in the Chinese
translation.
The coup monté