We are advocating that owners vote NO on everything at this year’s AGM, which is being held on Monday, March 31st. That might seem negative, but voting no is key to getting a positive outcome!
We believe it’s critical to elect a new council, and a new council can’t be burdened by the poor decisions of the current council. By voting NO, owners can help give a new council a clean slate, and a fresh start to do things better.
We also believe that the resolutions and budget do not stand on their own merits, which makes voting them down even more important.
Vote NO on the budget
The proposed budget will raise strata fees for the second year in a row (by 9.9%, after last year’s 5% increase), partly, they claim, due to “larger than expected water and sewer costs” which we verified are only 6% for water and 10% for sewer. See here for more. At least some of the numbers presented in the budget do not appear to be accurate. This is a budget no owner should approve.
If the budget is voted down, a (hopefully new) council will come out with a revised budget and it will be voted on by owners at an SGM (Special General Meeting). This would give a new council time to conduct a review of the budget numbers and, importantly, request an audit of Copperstone’s finances, something unlikely to happen under the current council or property management company.
Vote NO on the $20,000 special resolution on parkade lighting
Until we have a truly clear picture of Copperstone’s finances, we shouldn’t be spending money on non-urgent matters. Last year owners approved $35,000 for the project and council has done nothing since, except talk to a few contractors. This project needs a new council to properly reassess it.
Additionally, the proposed sensors to dim lights will likely reduce safety, result in negligible cost savings (LED lights are already incredibly efficient), will almost certainly cost more than anticipated to retrofit into place, and may not even comply with building codes.
Vote NO on the $30,000 special resolution for “security”
This is ridiculous overreach based on fearmongering and little else, and hands the strata property manager a huge amount of money with virtually no restrictions–the cost was never even discussed in any council meeting this year.
Copperstone does not need to be turned into a surveillance state. The current council is already allowing far too many people to observe the existing video camera feeds—we do not need more cameras, locked gates and other security features that would turn the property into a virtual prison. This is a colossal waste of money and should never have been approved as part of the agenda.
Vote NO on current council members seeking re-election
Technically, you don’t vote no for someone running for council, you just don’t vote for them.
We are advocating for new council members in all officer positions: president, vice-president, treasurer and secretary.
- Copperstone needs fresh eyes on council, to better tackle the issues we face
- The current council lacks vision—they talk a lot, but do little
- The current council lacks knowledge, often voting on items they don’t appear to fully understand, leading to waste and unnecessary expense
- The current council relies far too heavily on the management company to do most of the work. Deferring to an outside contractor whose priorities may not match what Copperstone needs is not good for our strata.
- The current council is paying too much and getting too little across a variety of contracts, leading to poor maintenance and higher costs for everyone
- We need a new council committed to reviewing all contracts, having our finances audited, communicating directly with owners and more
