Town Government
Auburn Select Board
About the Board
On the night of May 26, 2026, the Auburn Select Board could not elect a Vice Chair without holding a vote, because two members wanted the job and one of them nominated himself. That is the whole board in one moment: five people elected town-wide to three year terms, deciding things out loud in a room anyone can sit in. The Auburn charter gives them all the powers the Constitution and General Laws of the Commonwealth grant a select board, and then a specific list on top of that.
- Appoints the town’s three key officers, the Town Manager, the Town Accountant, and Town Counsel.
- Confirms department heads. The Town Manager designates them; the board votes to confirm or deny.
- Appoints the Finance Committee and the Zoning Board of Appeals, which are the two rooms where the budget and the zoning map get argued before anyone votes.
- Is the licensing authority for the town, from a liquor license to an outdoor entertainment permit.
- Controls the warrant, deciding what business reaches Town Meeting for a vote.
Board Members
All five members are elected town-wide to three year terms, on a staggered schedule that puts one or two seats on the ballot each May. The board reorganizes itself at its first meeting after the annual town election and chooses a Chair to run its meetings and a Vice Chair to stand in. On May 26, 2026, after Anne Cavanaugh and Todd Kirrane were both returned to office, the board elected Cavanaugh Chair by a 4 to 0 roll call and Kirrane Vice Chair by 3 to 1.
Anne M. Cavanaugh
Todd M. Kirrane
Steve Chambers
Sara K. Rufli
Daniel S. Carpenter
The town routes contact to the board through the Select Board office at 104 Central Street, which can be reached at 508-832-7720. The roster and every term expiration are posted at auburnma.gov.
Meetings & How to Participate
- When: 6:30 p.m. on the second and fourth Monday of every month, and a fifth Monday when there is one, in the Select Board Meeting Room at Town Hall, 104 Central Street.
- Agendas & minutes: posted in advance on the town’s Agenda Center, with full video on the town’s YouTube channel and on Auburn Community Television.
- Public comment: every agenda carries a Public Comments item, and meetings are hybrid, so you can speak in the room or remotely.
- Town Meeting: for the budget and the bylaws, the deciding vote belongs to the 120 Town Meeting members elected from the five precincts. Two thirds of them make a quorum, so 80 have to be in the room before any business can be done.
- The Moderator: a separately elected town officer, chosen for a one year term, who presides over Town Meeting, decides every question of order, and declares each vote out loud.
Sources
Town of Auburn, Select Board. Verified August 2026.
Town of Auburn Agenda Center, Select Board minutes of May 26, 2026. Verified August 2026.
What this seat decides
Your Select Board
Streets and sidewalks, licenses, a crosswalk or a speed limit, and how something gets onto the Town Meeting warrant. Ask the engineering department who owns the road before you write: a numbered state route is MassDOT's rather than your town's, and your State Representative is who can ask them. It runs the town day to day, or hires the Town Manager or Town Administrator who does, and new bylaws are voted by Town Meeting rather than by the board.
Public hearings and meetings are where residents shape town decisions.