Category

Remote Voting

The Post-Pandemic Road: Leaders Share their Perspectives

CondoVoter - Team - Electronic Condo Corporation Voting

Left to right: Angel-Marie Reiner; Darryl Fulton; Catharine R. Beatty; and Shawn Pulver.

It’s mid-summer hot in Ontario. After months and months of stops and starts, you can begin to feel a difference in people’s outlook and demeanours. Most Ontarians have received at least one vaccination and many have now double dosed. Businesses are slowly reopening following the Government of Ontario’s Roadmap to Reopen. There has been a collective sigh of relief that perhaps the worst is now behind us.

So, what does this mean for the condominium industry? Will condo corporations return to the status quo pre-pandemic and hold in-person AGMs and owners’ meetings? Will each corporation choose its own path forward? We reached out to several condominium industry leaders to gather their thoughts. We hope you enjoy their observations.

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In my opinion, as we slowly experience the easing of restrictions, invariably meetings will shift back to in person. Already many meetings are being held outside to meet with contractors and for exterior inspections to name a couple. Many board members naturally prefer in person and the same with property managers. The effectiveness of meeting in person versus virtually will have an organic effect on this change in the industry. For owners’ meetings, most feedback seems to be a vocal anticipation of being able to meet again and make those connections many of us in the industry are missing. Owners’ meetings are often as much about business as they are about the social and community aspect of the corporation. Residents with language, technological or other hindrances may have been adversely affected throughout the past two annual general meetings. I do expect that people want to go back to in-person meetings to have that personal touch and interaction. Not to be forgotten, virtual meetings are quick to set up, easy to hold, allow for good communication and eliminate attendance challenges. Many corporations likely experienced a nice feeling of knowing that their quorum numbers were met well ahead of the meeting. I feel that some buildings/boards will want to have a hybridized meeting of some sort to assist better to achieve quorum. I foresee larger buildings being able to support the hybrid meeting platform with the extra costs that would be associated. Small corporations will likely fall back to meeting in person for cost reasons mainly. Some may opt for virtual just to ensure quorum. For board meetings, I anticipate the virtual meeting will become another tool in the tool box to be able to have quick meetings set up or even become an alternating meeting style. It has been a difficult road but, amongst other efficiencies that have been ferreted out in this pandemic, the virtual meeting is here to stay … but in a more useful, helpful way rather than the now vanishing forced obligation it has been.


Darryl Fulton
Regional Condominium Manager

Goldview Property Management

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I opened our Condominium Management Division in 2019; I was surprised at how dated technology was, how heavily “papered” the industry was/is. I heard from my peers in the industry who seemed to fear change, saying, ‘we have just always done it that way.’  

Can you imagine if we lived in a society where the above statement was acceptable and we didn’t grow professionally and, for that matter, personally?

I knew there had to be better ways. Before COVID-19, I could not understand why board meetings were being held in person, particularly those after hours. The mere suggestion of holding a meeting virtually was not well received.  

Board members are volunteers; many of the members work during the day, why after a full day of work, would they want to drive to our office or another location, take the meeting, and then drive home? Would it not be nicer to be home when the meeting is done, save the drive time? Plus, it would be a better solution for our property managers to save drive time and promote balance.  

We tried in 2019 to introduce virtual meetings with little success. Then the pandemic changed our lives. Virtual meetings became the norm and not the exception to the rule.    

It took time to get used to these meetings, to get a rhythm going, there were many “Bob, we can’t see you”, “Susan, you are on mute”, “Everyone, please mute as the background notice is distracting.”  

After an adoption period, our boards now prefer the virtual experience from virtual meetings, e-voting and automated payment processing.  Further the response from virtual AGMs was overwhelmingly positive. Even with the thoughts that we may be able to have AGMs in person, in the future, we have booked most of our corporations for virtual AGMs because they are more efficient and who doesn’t love efficiency!

 
Angel-Marie Reiner
President 

Onyx Condo Management

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There is no doubt that the ability to hold virtual meetings has been a saviour for the condominium industry throughout the pandemic. It has allowed unit owners to continue to stay informed about key operational and financial aspects of their corporation. As the restrictions are lifted, boards of directors will need to make decisions on whether to continue with these virtual meetings.

One of the major positive aspects of virtual meetings is their inclusiveness. As the auditor, we attend the annual general meetings for our condominium corporation clients to present the financial statements. Prior to the pandemic, some in-person meetings for buildings with over 400 units would only have 10 people in attendance. Now, when held as a virtual meeting, that same building may have over 100 people in attendance.  Virtual meetings allow many people to participate who would otherwise be unable to attend. For example, parents with young children, individuals with disabilities when a meeting is offsite and owners that do not live in their units. This increased attendance has tremendous value to a board, as it allows them the opportunity to communicate directly with more unit owners, address their concerns and share ideas to improve the management of the corporation.

From our perspective, we believe that our presentation of the audited financial statements has been greatly improved through virtual meetings. At in-person meetings, we have found that few unit owners have the financial statements with them; however, at virtual meetings, the financial statements are displayed on screen, so unit owners can follow along as we review them. This has allowed us to more effectively educate and inform the unit owners, and we have received positive feedback on the experience over the past year. 

These are just two of the positive aspects of virtual meetings, but there are many more.  For this reason, we believe that virtual meetings will continue for many corporations, in particular, the larger buildings or those that need to hold meetings offsite. The benefits of holding virtual meetings will be hard for many of the boards to ignore post-pandemic.

Catharine R. Beatty, CPA, CA
Client Service Manager

Rapkin Wein LLP

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It is clear that virtual condo meetings are here to stay for the long term. The pandemic has forced service providers in many industries (including legal) to look at other ways to provide strong services, by relying more on technology and innovation. The days of paper proxies and paper ballots are clearly numbered. As someone who has litigated election-related disputes, I can see first-hand the benefits of having electronic votes that avoid the possibility of human error, and provide owners with the opportunity to change their vote at any time. I have seen far too many situations where owners attend a meeting where the outcome of an election has already been predetermined before any candidate has even spoken. Owners may have wanted to change their vote after hearing from certain candidates, but it was too late. I am thrilled when I see condo voting and condo elections back in line with the current technological environment. 

Shawn Pulver
Founder and principal

Pulver on Condos

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Passing Bylaws the Virtual Way

CondoVoter - Team - Electronic Condo Corporation Voting

Condominium corporations are complex legal entities governed by the Condominium Act as well as their Declaration, bylaws and rules. Some bylaws, such as a bylaw to add electronic voting and virtual meetings, require a majority vote from only those residents present at the AGM or owners’ meeting (present can be in person, virtually, electronically or by proxy). Other bylaws, such as a Standard Unit bylaw, require a majority vote in favour from all voting units in the condominium. In this case study, we explore the process one corporation is undertaking to approve three different bylaws.

Overview

One year ago, a Standard Unit bylaw (SUB) was to be introduced by a Toronto area condominium corporation to residents at their AGM. While the appetite for a new SUB gained traction among residents, voting did not meet the threshold of a majority in favour from all voting units. And so the meeting was adjourned to reconvene at a later time. This process of adjournment/reconvening continued for a number of meetings.

At the reconvened meeting held in April 2021, two other bylaws were introduced: 1) Directors’ Qualifications, and 2) Telecommunications bulk metering bylaw combined with a Section 97 Substantial Vote change. Again, there was insufficient participation to reach quorum and the meeting was adjourned to allow more time for owners to review the bylaws and information about the Substantial Change vote for their next vote.

Virtual Adjourned Meeting Process

The steps involved to adjourn meetings and to reconvene at a later date can be cumbersome. The process requires the same timeframe as for AGMs: 35 days’ preliminary notice to owners and 15 days for the notice of meeting.

Tuan Tran is a Regional Manager with City Sites Property Management Inc. Tuan retained CondoVoter on behalf of the condo corporation to provide virtual meeting and e-voting services. It was Tuan’s first time working with CondoVoter who had been recommended by managers from his team. The first step was to reach out to owners by email to send the preliminary notice of the meeting. The next step was an email to the owners sent approximately 17 days before the meeting date with the notice of meeting package which also contained a unique encrypted link to the electronic ballot for owners to cast their vote in advance of the meeting. “This part of the early process went very well,” explains Tuan. “Logistics can be challenging, especially reaching offsite owners, where we have had to coordinate hard copy delivery. We saw benefits right after the first preliminary notice email notice that was sent to owners.”

Next steps included explaining meeting preparation and training for management and the board. “We really appreciated the pre-training, which included how to deal with specific elements such as raising hands, muting and other features within the platform. It was very useful.”

One specific area that CondoVoter addressed for the board was how would owners voice any concerns. “The virtual moderator took care of addressing all these concerns in meeting – working with the chair of the meeting in asking for motions and second motions,” said Tuan. “The virtual moderator also took professional control of the Q&A at the end of the meeting employing chat, virtual hands, mute/unmute. In my experience, virtual meetings allow management and boards to have more control. Meetings get less out of hand or aggressive.” Tuan adds, “These are all good features to have!”

Because of the introduction of two new bylaws and the Substantial Change vote it was important to include panellists on the agenda and add them to the Q&A. “It was crucial to have their input especially in light of the new bylaws and this was very successful.”

Finally, as a value-added service, CondoVoter offered a professional minute-taker. “One less headache to deal with for us!”

Results

Adjourned meetings have been known to take one or two years to get the necessary majority of voting units to vote to pass a bylaw.

Tuan is extremely pleased to report their corporation’s Standard Unit bylaw passed successfully! “Electronic voting was easy to track,” he adds. “We didn’t have to start over or wait for more residents to vote. We were made aware of the number of votes after each adjournment and the live feed was great.” He also appreciated the weekly reminders to vote that CondoVoter sent to owners. “This helped us get the majority vote to pass the SUB. No doubt!”

From e-Voting to Virtual Meetings … an Easy Transition

CondoVoter - Team - Electronic Condo Corporation Voting - Toronto

The road from Albania to Canada has brought Violla Kapllani to manage The Spire condominium highrise in downtown Toronto. Violla has worked for Y.L. Hendler Ltd. since 2013, starting as an administrator and, not long after, a property manager. In 2015 she obtained her RCM. This same year she was recognized with ACMO’s inaugural Genesis Award for ‘a condominium manager who is new to the profession and has displayed exceptional service.’

Now eight years working as a condominium professional and Violla enjoys industry participation and attends events as often as she can. “We learned about CondoVoter at an ACMO luncheon a couple of years ago,” explains Violla. “At 359 units, it was sometimes difficult for us to achieve quorum, which requires 90 owners to meet the 25% threshold. The board of directors approved the electronic voting by-law on September 2018 and it was passed at the 2018 AGM. In 2019, the board of The Spire began using CondoVoter for electronic voting.”

As a property manager, Violla has experienced many benefits of e-Voting not only for herself but for owners too.

“Owners are able to cast their votes ahead of time, which saves so much time at the meeting, not to mention money saved too.”

E-Voting gives all owners the opportunity to vote, whereas in-person meetings were not always easy for everyone to attend. “I saw a difference right away with more owners who came forward to e-Vote. Thanks to e-Voting, we are now well above quorum for our AGMs and other owners’ meetings.” She is also appreciative of the email reminders that CondoVoter sends to owners on behalf of the board. “This one step saves me so much time in preparation and money for printing.”

Violla agrees owners see benefits as well.

“Owners have a better opportunity to participate, which makes them happier. Many owners have told me they like e-Voting because it is convenient and saves time.”

In 2020, when COVID-19 prevented in-person meetings, the board of The Spire switched easily to virtual meetings. The first virtual meeting (held in August 2020) was an adjourned AGM to pass three bylaws that did not pass at the 2019 AGM, followed by a special owners’ meeting. The board of directors hired CondoVoter again for the November 2020 virtual AGM. Since e-Voting was already in place and widely used by owners, Violla reckons a proxy ballot has been used just once. “In my experience, most proxy ballots were invalid anyway due to mistakes in filling them out.”

In addition to virtual meetings, CondoVoter provides various value-added meeting services to The Spire. “Our AGM packages are sent through CondoVoter,” explains Violla. “I previously would get these printed. With virtual meetings I don’t need to order chairs or choose a venue either,” she adds with a laugh.

At their November AGM, Violla noticed more offsite owners participated than at in-person meetings. She feels virtual meetings gives everyone a chance to participate in their community. “Plus, meetings are generally shorter. We don’t have to wait for quorum. We no longer have scrutineers who retire to another room to count ballots and miss parts of the meeting. CondoVoter counts ballots for us electronically.”

All in all, the virtual meeting experience for the board and owners has been extremely positive. “One of the best things we did is hire CondoVoter. We have been impressed every time we complete a meeting.”

You can focus on managing the meetings

CondoVoter - Team - Electronic Condo Corporation Voting - Toronto

In their own words
Interview with Diana Belshaw, president MTCC #1299

Diana Belshaw is an experienced condominium director and a 4-year president of the Board of Directors of MTCC #1299, a 181-unit condominium in the Distillery District of downtown Toronto. She and the Board made an early switch to virtual meetings in 2020 when the Ontario government announcement was made at the start of the pandemic.

“In some ways we were early guinea pigs,” she laughs, as the Board, aided by their corporation lawyer Denise Lash and management, soldiered ahead. “We consistently held virtual meetings. We did a lot of online engagement starting with Board meetings, bylaw meetings and, finally, our AGM,” she explains.

“We found it easy working with CondoVoter. They have a good combination of efficient vote tabulation and meeting management.”

Diana adds “We all can do Zoom. But this was different!” Diana is referring to the many pieces of documentation that are required for condo owners’ meetings and AGMs.

Having gained successful virtual meeting experience, Diana is keen to share her knowledge with others. As a condo Board president, she is particularly pleased with the ability to monitor and know in advance of a meeting how many people have voted. She concedes that there are still a few occasional paper proxies that are used for a handful of owners who remain uncomfortable with online voting while others are whizzes. “There are still some individuals who do not use online banking, and that’s one of the most secure online transactions. So, I suppose these people will not cast a vote online either.”

A huge part of Diana’s experience with electronic voting took place when the Board decided to review all its bylaws at once. “For our bylaw meeting we had 90% voter participation. And for the subsequent AGM, we achieved 80% participation. CondoVoter hosted each of these meetings and were able to produce [and prepare for virtual presentation] the required documents for us. They are very supportive partners.”

The corporation was sometimes on the edge of reaching quorum at in-person meetings, but thanks to a core of fairly active owners they always made it. Now, understandably, Diana’s favourite benefit of virtual meetings is advance voting. “There is more security knowing how votes are managed and it’s most helpful to know you have reached quorum prior to the meeting,” she says. “You aren’t juggling. You can now focus on managing the meeting.” Two other benefits to virtual meetings she has found to be important include: less likelihood for emotions from the floor, and more space and time for other business. “All these benefits occur because our virtual meetings are run efficiently, professionally and carefully.”

Looking back to when in-person meetings were the norm for condominiums, Diana has made this observation. “People are sometimes afraid that virtual meetings are less personal. But that’s just not true,” she states. “In my experience, there is just as much capacity for interaction and commentary.”

She and the Board all agree that they would like to continue with some combination of virtual and in-person meetings in the future.

“We have owners who travel, who have young families, who have busy lifestyles. A hybrid meeting [in-person and virtual] can accommodate all owners.”

We’ve come a long way from 2020, through a pandemic and now halfway through 2021. “Everyone’s online meeting fears have been put to rest,” says Diana. “Virtual meetings work well and they are convenient. I really see no downside.”

Interview with Diane Rouleau, RCM of Freure PM

“We hit all our points!”

“We’ve completed all our virtual AGMs now for the year,” said Diane Rouleau, RCM, OLCM and Assistant Property Manager with Freure Property Management Ltd. Diane, a 10-year+ RCM, along with the Property Manager, manage six properties for Freure in the Kitchener-Waterloo area. A seventh property will be added from the developer in June. “Because we take on properties to manage directly from the developers, the whole condominium ownership is an education process for new owners and tenants.”

They began the search for a virtual meeting provider later in 2020 and, after conducting interviews, selected CondoVoter. “Our corporations each created a ‘virtual meetings and electronic voting bylaw’ and these were passed by a majority of units,” she explains. The bylaw will continue to allow the corporations to conduct their AGMs and electronic voting virtually.

When reflecting on all the recently completed virtual meetings Diane said, “It’s been awesome! The moderators were fantastic. All CondoVoter staff have been lovely to deal with. They’re well-versed and keep our meetings on track. Even our seasoned directors love them [virtual meetings].”

In recent months, CondoVoter tweaked several of its features and added new ones to its services. One of Diane’s favourite features has been the Management Portal. “I get to see which units have pre-voted and when I’ve hit quorum. Once I know this, I can breathe easy. It’s a relief.”

She also allows that meeting pre-registration is a great help. “We’ve been able to achieve 75% participation with virtual meetings. Sometimes we’ve only made 25% participation with in-person meetings.”

Diane has been pleased with the ease of use with virtual meetings that help make owner attendance and participation easier. “Some owners I know, especially those who work shifts, have even been able to log-in to attend the AGMs from their place of employment.” To date, Diane has not come across an issue with their older demographic owners not being able to attend virtual meetings. “Last year perhaps only two out of 64 owners at one corporation didn’t have computer access. All our owners are quite tech-savvy.”

She explains a number of other benefits, especially for managers. “As a property manager I find virtual meetings to be a ‘safer environment’. I still recall in horror an in-person meeting when police had to be called,” she adds with a huge sigh. “With virtual meetings there seems to be more control over speakers and less opportunity for expressing anger or negativity.”

“I’ve also found that while in-person meetings have sometimes run up to 2.5 hours, we can complete all the obligations of an AGM in one hour. There are fewer questions from the floor. Shorter meetings, being more efficient, are also great when working from home.”

Lengthy in-person meetings, at least for now, seem like a distant memory. “With the security of CondoVoter as our third-party provider, they keep us on track and we can hit all the agenda points we need to.”

 

No Computer? No Worries: Vote by Phone to the Rescue

Some of the most common questions we at CondoVoter hear from condominium unit owners and board members who are apprehensive about remote voting are “What if I don’t have a computer” or “I’m new to learning this technology.” We understand how important meeting participation is and we are constantly looking for ways to make remote voting more accessible.

CondoVoter announces our new Vote-by-phone option 

We have developed an easy to follow 3-step process that provides safe and secure remote voting. Our new Vote-by-phone option allows owners to vote remotely, using their phone, with these three simple steps:

  • Step 1. Owners dial CondoVoter’s voting line and authorize themselves using a private pin number.
  • Step 2. A pre-recorded and professional voice actor intuitively explains to owners the items available for them to vote on and prompts them through the process.
  • Step 3. Owners securely place their encrypted vote either through dial tone key pad presses or through voice recognition.

Significant benefits

The Vote-by-phone option comes with several significant benefits. For example, if an email is on record for the unit, the owner will receive a confirmation via email of how they voted. Their vote will also be confirmed via phone. Additionally, owners have the option to change their vote up until voting closes. Furthermore, voting by phone can be done in advance of the meeting, or during the meeting itself.

How it Works 

√ CondoVoter’s Vote-by-phone option integrates directly with our existing online voting platform.

√ Votes placed via phone are instantaneously recorded alongside online votes and results are available in real time.

√ CondoVoter’s system policies prevent multiple votes being cast per unit, accommodates multiple unit owners, and through dynamic ballots presents Owner-Occupied votes only to applicable owners.

As board members and managers, we know it’s important for owners to vote at your condominium’s meetings. Now, you don’t have to worry if you don’t have computer access. CondoVoter’s Vote-by-phone option is here.

We invite you to contact CondoVoter for more information or to schedule your next meeting. Email info@condovoter.com