Town Leadership
The Select Board’s Office
Three Executives, All of Them Elected
The Select Board as Executive
When a road goes unplowed in Alford, the response does not cross an administrator’s desk, because the town does not employ one. The three elected members of the Select Board, Bruce Schreiber, Peter Puciloski, and Jim Hall, run the town themselves. Under the General Laws of Massachusetts and the town’s own bylaws, the board serves as Alford’s chief executive: it sets town policy, appoints residents to the town’s boards and committees, recommends the annual budget to Town Meeting, oversees the town’s departments, and serves as the local licensing authority. Most Massachusetts towns of this shape hire a professional Town Administrator to carry the daily machinery; Alford keeps that machinery in the hands of the people it elects, supported by a small office at Town Hall. That changes what an election here means. When you vote for a Select Board member, you are not choosing someone to supervise a manager, you are choosing a working executive. The person who answers for the plowing schedule and next year’s budget sits at a public table at Town Hall on the second and fourth Monday evenings, and the seat across from them is open to any resident who walks in.
| Role | Select Board, the town’s executive and licensing authority |
|---|---|
| Selection | Three members elected town-wide to staggered three-year terms |
| Office | 5 Alford Center Road, Alford, MA 01230 |
| Phone | 413-528-4536, ext. 101 |
| Website | townofalford.org/select-board |
What the Select Board’s Office Does
- Sets policy. The board acts as the town’s primary policy-making body on the whole range of issues that affect Alford’s services and development.
- Builds the warrant. The board decides what reaches Town Meeting, signing the warrant for every Annual and Special Town Meeting.
- Recommends the budget. The board recommends the annual budget to the Annual Town Meeting, alongside the Finance Committee’s review, and Town Meeting holds the final vote.
- Licenses. The board is the town’s local licensing authority for the permits state law puts in its hands.
- Answers to Town Meeting. Major spending and bylaws still need the vote of Town Meeting, and in Alford that means every registered voter who walks in.
The Administration
- The office staff: an administrative assistant to the Select Board, Roxanne Germain, runs the office day to day at Town Hall, open to the public Monday through Thursday from 8:00 AM to 1:00 PM.
- Elected offices carry much of the work. Alford fills a long town ballot each May, including the Moderator, the Assessors, the Finance Committee, the Planning Board, the Cemetery Commission, the Library Trustees, and the town’s seat on the regional School Committee, so the executive branch here is a web of ballots, not one org chart.
- Boards and commissions, permanent and ad hoc, are appointed by the Select Board and decide questions like zoning, conservation, and historic preservation.
Contact & Engage
- Town offices: 5 Alford Center Road, with public office hours Monday through Thursday from 8:00 AM to 1:00 PM.
- Select Board’s office: 413-528-4536, ext. 101, reachable through the town’s Select Board page.
- Report a problem: potholes, broken signs, and plowing go to the Highway Department, 413-528-6327.
- Show up: the board meets on the second and fourth Mondays at 6:00 PM, and the public is welcome.
Want to weigh in on a town decision? Learn how to contact your officials so they actually hear you.