What to do when your Executive resigns
(or, worse, won't go away)
Bad times - lapsed Tenants and Residents
Associations
Worse times - show me the money
Lapsed TRAs
Anyone can call an Extraordinary General Meeting (a meeting which isn't called
by the Executive). If you feel you have no confidence in the direction of
the leadership or you haven't had a meeting in a very long time, or you haven't
had an Annual General Meeting in over a year, contact the Camden Federation
for Tenants and Residents Association and they will tell you how to set up
the meeting, and also send someone to be the official observer, to ensure
the meeting is valid.
If an executive member resigns, as a matter of courtesy, the remaining Executive
should call a general meeting within two weeks to a month, in an effort to
replace the missing executive position.
If you have someone everyone finds annoying, but not strictly dangerous or
criminal in charge of your executive, it's always best to simply wait their
term of office out rather than split the community (although a selfish or
power-seeking individual saps the energy from the organisation and will block
things which should have gone forward).
A healthy Residents' Association should have an Annual General Meeting (AGM)
within twelve months of their last meeting. They are allowed three months
grace, so they can technically function up to fifteen months from the date
of their last AGM. After that, if the Secretary has not called an AGM, the
Residents' Association is considered to have lapsed, and it is no longer
a valid Association. It has no voting powers, and is no longer eligible for
grants.
If the executive have not called a meeting, and you are past the fifteen
month mark, call your local ward councillor and the Camden Federation of
Tenants and Residents Association and they will help you set up an AGM, with
or without the help of the existing Executive of the TRA. Also, as a courtesy,
notify your District Housing Manager.
WORSE
Sometimes, if TRAs are given large grants, it might be possible for the money
to be either spent foolishly, or (in very rare cases) not accounted for at
all or stolen. It is better to be safe; make sure your TRA has a bank
account which does not allow overdrafts, credit cards, or for the account
to be overdrawn. That way, if you have a bad person who wants to take
all your money, they have a limit to the amount they can take. Make sure
there are at least three people on the Executive who are named as co-signers,
and that at least two of the three must always sign every cheque.
Make sure that the Treasurer is always one of the co-signers, since it is the Treasurer who is responsible for the funds (have the Treasurer keep the cheque book, so they are always in control of cheques being issued). This may not help if it is your Treasurer who is the bad person, but it at least prevents innocent people from being responsible for bad people and their actions.
Try not to have couples have signing powers (in case they decide to go on a rum-finding excursion to Barbados).
Most importantly, if you know your Association has a large
amount of money, and there has bee a recent resignation from the Executive
without them calling a General Meeting, insist on calling an Extraordinary
General Meeting (The Camden Federation of Tenants and Residents Association
will tell you how to do this). It's important that your Association not be
left with an undemocratic Chair appointing random co-signers, rather than
holding a proper democratic meeting to fill the vacant positions.
Let the Camden Federation of Tenants and Residents Association deal with
the individuals. The important thing is to get your Residents Association
validated and functioning democratically again.
You do not need your old executive present to have a meeting
(although you do need to give everyone in your building at least 21
days notice that you are having the meeting, and an official observer -
either your ward councillor or someone from CFTRA (Camden Federation
of Tenants And Residents' Associations) or CFPTA (Camden Federation
of Private Tenants' Association) as well - in times of dispute, it's always
useful to have an unbiased observer to take the minutes). So long as your
Association's bank account does not allow overdrafts, you can be guaranteed
that your new executive's Treasurer will be starting with a clean slate.
how to replace a bad Residents'
Association Executive (and a model constitution for your building)
HOW
TO MAKE YOUR BUILDING A COMMUNITY |