Town Government
Acton Select Board
About the Board
All five members of the Select Board are elected town-wide to three year terms, so every Acton voter helps choose every one of them, and the terms are staggered so that some seats are on the ballot each spring. This is the board that sets town policy between Town Meetings. It hires and supervises the Town Manager who runs the town day to day, it signs the warrant that decides what business reaches Town Meeting, and it appoints residents to many of the town’s boards and committees. When a daily problem turns into town policy, this is the room where that happens.
- Sets policy and direction for the whole town.
- Hires the Town Manager and supervises the office.
- Controls the warrant, deciding what business reaches Town Meeting for a vote.
Board Members
After each annual town election the board reorganizes and elects its own officers from among the five. Acton names three: a Chair, a Vice Chair and a Clerk. The other two members hold no officer title and have exactly the same vote.
Alissa K. Nicol
David D. Martin
Francesca Arsenault
Pamela M. Nourse
Dean A. Charter
The town routes contact to the board through the Select Board office at 978-929-6611 or sb@actonma.gov, and the current roster is posted at actonma.gov.
Meetings & How to Participate
- When: the board meets every other Monday at 6:00 PM, and monthly through the summer, at Acton Town Hall, 472 Main Street. The town posts each agenda in advance.
- The open invitation: the town’s own description of these meetings is worth quoting, because it is an unusually plain offer. Every meeting “always begins with inviting community members to speak about concerns on any topic not on the printed agenda.” You do not need an item on the agenda and you do not need to be old enough to vote.
- Agendas & minutes: posted on the town’s Agenda Center at actonma.gov, and you can sign up for an alert when a new one goes up.
- Town Meeting: for the budget and the bylaws the deciding vote belongs to the registered voters in the hall, which can include you the year you turn eighteen.
Public hearings and meetings are where residents shape town decisions.
MassCivics last checked this page on September 13, 2026.