Town Government
Boards & Commissions
What Boards & Commissions Are
Beyond the Select Board, Ashfield lists seventeen boards, committees and commissions on its own index, and volunteers fill nearly all of them. They approve subdivisions, hear zoning appeals, protect the wetlands and the town’s open space, review the budget before Town Meeting sees it, advise on the fiber network, and look after the historical record. Do the arithmetic against a population of 1,695 and the point is obvious: in a town this size, these rooms are open, and a resident who wants a seat can usually get one.
Most members are appointed by the Select Board and serve fixed terms, though some, like the Library Trustees, are elected. The meetings are public, and seats open up regularly.
Ashfield’s Boards, Committees and Commissions
- Agricultural Commission
- Board of Assessors
- Board of Health
- Conservation Commission
- Council on Aging
- Cultural Council
- Energy Committee
- Finance Committee
- Historical Commission
- Municipal Light Plant
- Park Commission
- Planning Board
- Schools
- Select Board
- Sewer Commission
- Town Hall Building Committee
- Zoning Board of Appeals
A Few of Them, and What They Decide
- Planning Board reviews subdivisions, site plans, and major development.
- Zoning Board of Appeals hears variances and special permits.
- Conservation Commission protects Ashfield’s wetlands, streams, and open space, working with a shared Hilltown conservation agent.
- Finance Committee reviews the budget and advises Town Meeting on spending, and its chair is next in the town’s emergency chain of authority after the Select Board.
- Board of Health oversees inspections and public health rules, with health agent services provided regionally through the Franklin Regional Council of Governments.
- Municipal Light Plant board advises the Select Board on everything to do with the Fiber to the Home project, the broadband network the town built for itself.
- Library Trustees govern the Belding Memorial Library, and unlike most of these, they are elected.
For the full roster, current members, vacancies, and schedules, see ashfield.org.
How to Serve
- Find an opening on the town’s Boards, Committees and Commissions page.
- Submit a letter of interest to the Select Board, through the Town Administrator’s office.
- Talk with the board if asked, and await appointment by the Select Board.
- Serve: attend the public meetings and help make decisions for your town.
Serving on a board is one of the most direct ways to shape Ashfield.