Q In New Jersey, is it legal for board members to share responsibilities? For  example, can one be both the secretary and the treasurer? Is this something  that you wold recommend? As a small association, we always have difficulty  finding people to serve.  

 —Concerned in Clifton  

A “Very often board members share responsibilities,” says attorney Scott Piekarsky of the law firm of Piekarsky & Associates in Wyckoff. “ One member can serve as both secretary and treasurer, unless prohibited by  their specific governing documents.  

 “In New Jersey, for example, the non-profit corporation statute expressly  provides that any two or more offices may be held by the same person. I would recommend this for the very small community where there is not enough  help or simply apathy and/or lack of interest. However, each situation and community has to be evaluated independently by legal  counsel. For example, there is a vice president to serve and lead when the president is  unavailable. Therefore, having one person handle those two top jobs is not advised.  

 “We have also seen small condo sites of very small sizes (e.g., 6 units) where  the same one person has been stuck doing everything. Obviously, not an ideal  situation but you cannot force people to serve.”