Town Government
Abington Boards & Commissions
What Boards & Commissions Are
Beyond the Select Board and the School Committee, much of Abington’s governing happens on boards and commissions staffed by residents. They approve new development, hear zoning appeals, protect the town’s wetlands and open space, weigh in on historic places, and guide services for residents. They are the rooms where an ordinary resident can have the most direct hand in a decision.
Who fills them is a real question here, and Abington’s charter answers it in three different ways. Eleven bodies are elected outright by the whole town under charter section 3-1-1: the Select Board, the Moderator, the Town Clerk, the School Committee, the Board of Assessors, the Board of Health, the Board of Library Trustees, the Board of Sewer Commissioners, the Board of Water Commissioners, the Housing Authority and the Planning Board. Most of the rest are appointed by the Select Board. And one important committee is appointed by neither: charter section 7-10 hands the Moderator the appointment of any multiple member body whose main job is legislative, which is why the nine members of the Finance Committee are chosen by the Town Moderator.
Key Boards & Commissions
- Planning Board reviews subdivisions, site plans, and major development, and prepares the town’s comprehensive plan. Elected, five members, five year terms.
- Zoning Board of Appeals hears variances and special permits. Appointed by the Select Board.
- Conservation Commission protects Abington’s wetlands, rivers, and open space, and issues the orders of conditions a project near water needs.
- Finance Committee reviews the operating budget, the capital plan and every Town Meeting article, and its recommendations are read out before voters decide. Nine residents, appointed by the Town Moderator to staggered three year terms, chaired by Matthew Salah. Its authority comes from charter section 2-3 and general bylaw section 67.
- Board of Health oversees inspections, food safety and public health rules. Elected, five members, three year terms. Chair Katie VanNest and Vice Chair Carol Dolan.
- Board of Assessors sets the town’s property values. Elected, three members, three year terms, chaired by Lawrence Keough.
- Board of Library Trustees has general charge of the library and appoints the Library Director. Elected, nine members, three year terms.
- Historical Commission surveys and protects the town’s historic places and nominates them to the National Register. Five members appointed by the Select Board to staggered three year terms, founded in 1975, meeting in the Wales room at the Abington Public Library.
- Community Preservation Committee recommends how the town spends its Community Preservation Act money on open space, historic preservation, recreation and affordable housing, and Town Meeting votes each project.
- Sewer and Water Commissioners set policy for the systems that carry Abington’s water in and its wastewater out. Both elected.
The town keeps its full list on its own Boards and Committees page. It runs long, and it is worth reading: the DPW and Fire Station Building Committee, the Cultural Council, the Open Space Committee, the Cable Advisory Committee, Affordable Housing, Hazard Mitigation, Charter Review, the Opioid Settlement Fund Allocation Committee, the MVP 2.0 Grant Core Team, the Strawberry Valley Golf Course Committee, Griffin’s Dairy, Abington Celebrates and Abington Summer Concerts are all on it.
How to Serve
- Find an opening on the town’s Boards and Committees page, which also lists current vacancies.
- Apply. The town takes applications through its own Board and Committee Appointment form, online or on paper at the Town Manager’s office during business hours.
- Interview if asked, and await appointment.
- Serve: attend the public meetings and help make decisions for your town.
- For the Finance Committee, ask the Moderator. Those nine seats are the Town Moderator’s appointments, and the town publishes Shawn Reilly’s own contact for them at 781-878-2568 ext. 15.
One thing is worth knowing before you turn eighteen. The town publishes an orientation guide for new board and committee members alongside the application, so you can read what a seat actually asks of you before you ask for it, and the Town Manager’s office keeps a running list of the committees with openings.
Serving on a board is one of the most direct ways to shape Abington.