Q. We live in a small condo association, only 24 units. It’s a great place, and most of the owners have been here for many years. Needless to say, as people get older, and have been volunteering for various positions over the years, it’s getting harder and harder to get anyone to serve on the board, and once there, to take on the extra responsibilities associated with being an officer. Is it possible to have one person serve two positions — like secretary and treasurer? What other options might we have?

                                            —Burned Out

A. “Your question on how to assign officer duties implicates both the governing law and the condominium documents of your association,” notes Gary M. Daddario, partner in the law firm of Winer & Bennett in Tyngsboro, Massachusetts. “In Massachusetts, the Condominium Statute is an ‘enabling act’.  This means that it introduces concepts and, generally, authorizes citizens of the state to insert the details. 

“This ‘fill in the gaps’ activity is usually completed via the drafting of the association’s own condominium documents.  Most governing documents contain some clear language about the officer positions. In general, unless doing so would conflict with your documents, you could have a single board member carry out the duties of what might otherwise be different officers.”