City Edition
Hampden County
Agawam, Massachusetts
The first house European settlers built in all of western Massachusetts went up in the Agawam Meadows in 1635, and Agawam has been getting its name attached to other people’s projects ever since. It was folded into Springfield, then split off as part of West Springfield, and did not become its own town until 1855. Today it is stranger still: legally it is the Town of Agawam, but it runs a mayor and an eleven member City Council. Eleven councilors, all elected at large, which means every one of them answers to you, and every one of them is on your ballot. This guide shows you how it all works: the Mayor who runs the departments and proposes the budget, the councilors who vote it, the committee that oversees your schools, the legislators who carry Agawam’s voice to Boston and Washington, and the numbers underneath all of it.
Agawam at a Glance
Sources: Massachusetts DESE, district profile · US Census Bureau (data.census.gov).
- County: Hampden. The Westfield River and the Connecticut River run along Agawam’s edges, and the village of Feeding Hills, with its own ZIP code, makes up its western side.
- Government: Mayor and City Council, a form Agawam adopted effective January 1, 1973 while keeping “Town of” in its legal name. The Mayor is Christopher C. Johnson.
- Schools: Agawam Public Schools, 3,418 students across eight schools, led by Superintendent Sheila Martin.
How Agawam’s Government Works
Agawam runs on a mayor and council government, adopted effective January 1, 1973, even though the community kept the words “Town of” in its legal name. Voters elect a Mayor to run the town, an eleven member City Council to make its laws and vote its money, and a School Committee to oversee the schools. The charter’s language about the executive is plain: the Mayor exercises general supervision and direction over all town departments and agencies, and also chairs the School Committee. The Council is the check. Legislative power is vested in it, and no appropriation is made until the Council approves it.
The Mayor
The chief executive officer of the town. Supervises and directs every town department and agency, proposes the annual Operating Budget, and chairs the School Committee.
City Council
The eleven member legislative body, every seat elected citywide. It holds public hearings, passes ordinances, financial orders, and resolutions, and approves all appropriations.
School Committee
Seven seats: six elected members plus the Mayor, who chairs it under the charter. It sets school policy, approves the school budget, and hires the Superintendent.
- Residents elect the Mayor, all eleven councilors, and the six elected School Committee members. Every one of those choices is made citywide.
- The Mayor proposes the budget and runs the departments that carry it out.
- The Council votes the budget and the ordinances, and it can vote them down.
- You take part: speak at a City Council meeting (sign up before it starts), bring a problem to any of the eleven councilors, or run for a seat yourself.
Explore the Agawam Edition
- Mayor’s OfficeThe chief executive and what the job actually controls
- City CouncilAll eleven members, how to reach them, when they meet
- School CommitteeThe seven seats and the Superintendent
- City DepartmentsWho to call when something breaks
- Boards & CommissionsWhere volunteers decide real questions
- LegislatorsYour delegation on Beacon Hill and in Washington
- DemographicsWho lives in Agawam, by the numbers
- Agawam HistoryFrom the first house in western Massachusetts to today
- Non-ProfitsThe organizations holding the city together
- Student DataEnrollment, graduation, and spending
Your County Officials
Two of the people with the most direct power over your life are elected countywide. The district attorney decides who gets charged with a crime, and what they get charged with. The sheriff runs the county jail. Both of them answer to the voters of Hampden County, and that includes Agawam. They appear on your ballot. Now you know what to look for.
Every county in Massachusetts elects its own, and the job is the same everywhere: the charging decisions, the jail. Look up any town in the state and see who holds these two offices there.
Your First Civic Action in Agawam
You do not have to wait until you can vote to be heard. Here is a concrete path from a problem on your street to the people who can fix it.
- Pick the right body. Anything about a school, a course, a bus, or a teacher goes to the School Committee. Everything else, from a broken sidewalk to the tax rate, goes to the City Council.
- Find the meeting. The City Council meets at 7:00 p.m. on the first and third Monday of most months in the auditorium of the Agawam Senior Center, 954 Main Street. In July and August it meets once. School Committee agendas and minutes are linked from the town website.
- Know your councilors. All eleven are elected citywide, so every one of them represents you. Bring a problem to any of them, or to all of them at once.
- Speak. Citizens may speak at City Council meetings. Sign up before the meeting starts, then say what you came to say.
- Or skip the trip. Report a pothole, a dead streetlight, or a missed pickup through the town’s online Citizen Request form.
- Town Hall: 36 Main Street, Agawam, MA 01001. Main line 413-786-0400.
- City Council office: 413-726-9716. Agendas and minutes are kept by the City Clerk and posted on the town’s City Council page.
- Agawam Public Schools: agawamed.org.
Knowing who represents you is the first step. Learn how to write to them so it actually lands.