Town Edition
Worcester County
Auburn, Massachusetts
Photo: John Phelan, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
On March 16, 1926, the world’s first liquid-fueled rocket lifted off from a farm field in Auburn, climbed 41 feet, and fell back to earth two and a half seconds later. That ground belongs to you now. The town bought the 54 acres in 1981, has run the Pakachoag Golf Course itself since 2016, and the launch site sits under a stone monument on the ninth fairway, a National Historic Landmark since 1966. Which means the hill where Robert Goddard opened the space age is a line in a municipal budget that 120 of your neighbors vote on every spring. Auburn is a representative town meeting town, so those neighbors were elected from your own precinct, 24 of them from each of five precincts. This guide shows you how Auburn works and where you can push on it.
Auburn at a Glance
Sources: Massachusetts DESE, district profile · US Census Bureau (data.census.gov).
- County: Worcester. Auburn covers 15.5 square miles at the crossing of I-290, I-90, I-395, Route 12 and Route 20, which is why a town of this size carries the shopping and industry it does.
- Government: representative Town Meeting, an elected five member Select Board chaired by Anne M. Cavanaugh, and an appointed Town Manager, Dori A. Vecchio.
- Schools: Auburn Public Schools, 2,444 students across five schools, led by Superintendent Robert Skaza.
How Auburn’s Government Works
Auburn runs on a representative Town Meeting, which is an old New England form scaled up for a town too big to fit everyone in one room. Voters in each precinct elect their neighbors to serve as Town Meeting members, and those members hold the final vote on the budget and on the town’s bylaws. Voters also elect a 5 member Select Board to set policy and the School Committee that oversees the schools. The Select Board hires a professional Town Manager to run the town day to day. The levers are split on purpose: residents elect the people, Town Meeting votes the money, the Select Board sets direction, and the Town Manager carries it out.
Town Meeting
The legislative body. Members elected from the precincts adopt the annual budget, pass town bylaws, and approve major spending. It is the closest thing to direct democracy that still works at this scale.
Select Board
5 members elected town-wide. They set policy, sign the warrants that decide what reaches Town Meeting, appoint residents to many town boards, and hire and supervise the Town Manager.
Town Manager
The appointed chief administrator. Runs the departments, builds the budget, and answers to the Select Board. Hired under contract, not elected.
School Committee
5 members, elected by the voters of the district the schools serve. It sets school policy, approves the school budget, and hires the Superintendent.
- Residents elect Town Meeting members from their own precinct, the 5 members of the Select Board, and the School Committee.
- The Select Board hires the Town Manager and sets town policy.
- Town Meeting votes the budget and the bylaws up or down.
- You take part: run for Town Meeting from your precinct at 18, speak at a Select Board meeting, or testify at Town Meeting.
Explore the Auburn Edition
- Town Manager’s OfficeThe town’s chief administrator
- Select BoardYour five board members
- School CommitteeSuperintendent & committee
- Town DepartmentsWho does what at Town Hall
- Boards & CommissionsWhere residents serve
- LegislatorsYour voice in Boston & D.C.
- Auburn HistoryWard, Auburn, and a rocket
- DemographicsWho lives in Auburn
- Non-ProfitsCommunity organizations
- Student DataAuburn Public Schools by the numbers
Civic Calendar
- Select Board: meets at 6:30 p.m. on the second and fourth Monday of every month, and on a fifth Monday when there is one, in the Select Board Meeting Room at Town Hall, 104 Central Street.
- Town Meeting: the annual session is held on the first Tuesday in May and is called to order at 7:00 p.m. A special Town Meeting is set for October 27, 2026 at 6:00 p.m. in the Auburn High School auditorium, 99 Auburn Street.
- Town elections: the annual town election is held on the third Tuesday of May. In 2026 that was May 19, and all five precincts voted in the Auburn High School gym.
- Finance Committee: meets at 5:30 p.m. on the third Wednesday of the month from June through November, which is when the budget takes its shape.
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 Worcester County, and that includes Auburn. 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 Auburn
You do not have to wait until you can vote to be heard in your own town. Here is how to take a real concern to the people who decide.
- Pick the right body. Town policy, roads, licenses, and police or fire go to the Select Board. Schools go to the School Committee. The budget and the bylaws are voted by Town Meeting.
- Find the meeting. The Select Board meets at 6:30 p.m. on the second and fourth Mondays at Town Hall, 104 Central Street, and the agenda is posted in advance on the town’s Agenda Center.
- Know your members. All five Select Board members are elected town-wide, so every one of them answers to you, and 24 Town Meeting members answer to your precinct alone.
- Speak. Meetings are hybrid, in the room and remote, and every meeting has a Public Comments item. Check the agenda for how to sign up.
- Or put it on the warrant. Ten or more registered voters, in writing, can place an article on the warrant for the annual Town Meeting. Ten signatures is a hallway, a bus stop, or a family.
- Town Hall: 104 Central Street, Auburn, MA 01501. Open Monday 8 a.m. to 7 p.m., Tuesday through Thursday 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., and Friday 8 a.m. to 1 p.m.
- Town Clerk & agendas: 508-832-7701, with meeting agendas and minutes posted at auburnma.gov.
- Public schools: Auburn Public Schools, 5 West Street, 508-832-7755.
- Citizens Leadership Academy: the town’s own walk through every department, one night a week. You can apply at 16 with a parent or guardian’s permission. Town Manager’s Office, 508-832-7720.
Local government works best when residents show up. Find your Select Board, speak at a Monday meeting, or run for Town Meeting in your precinct.
Sources
This guide draws on public sources, refreshed August 2026: U.S. Census Bureau, Massachusetts DESE School and District Profiles, Massachusetts Legislature (malegislature.gov), and the official Auburn government website.