Town Edition
Middlesex County
Belmont, Massachusetts
Belmont was assembled out of pieces of three other towns in 1859 and named after a rich man’s hilltop estate. It is nicknamed the Town of Homes, which sounds like nothing until you realize what it means: almost no industry, almost no commercial tax base, and therefore a school budget that rests almost entirely on what homeowners are willing to pay. Belmont is run by a Select Board of just three people. Three. In a town of twenty seven thousand. Two of them agreeing is a majority of the board, and that is the whole margin between a policy happening and not happening. This guide shows you how Belmont works and where you can push on it.
Belmont at a Glance
Sources: Massachusetts DESE, district profile · US Census Bureau (data.census.gov).
- County: Middlesex. Belmont was carved in 1859 from Watertown, Waltham, and West Cambridge, now Arlington, and those neighbors still surround it.
- Government: representative Town Meeting, a three-member Select Board elected town-wide, and an appointed Town Administrator, Patrice Garvin, who has run the town day to day since 2018.
- Schools: Belmont Public Schools, 4,433 students across seven schools, led by Superintendent Jill Geiser.
How Belmont’s Government Works
Belmont 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 three-member Select Board to set policy and the School Committee that oversees the schools. The Select Board hires a professional Town Administrator 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 Administrator 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 at scale.
Select Board
Three members elected town-wide. They set policy, sign the warrants that decide what reaches Town Meeting, appoint many boards, and hire and supervise the Town Administrator.
Town Administrator
The appointed chief administrator. Runs the departments, builds the budget, and answers to the Select Board. Hired under contract, not elected.
School Committee
Six 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 three members of the Select Board, and the School Committee.
- The Select Board hires the Town Administrator 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.
Civic Calendar
- Select Board: typically meets two Monday evenings each month at 7 pm in the Select Board Meeting Room at Town Hall, 455 Concord Avenue. Meetings are hybrid, in person and online, and every one is posted in advance.
- Town Meeting: the representative Town Meeting holds its annual session in the spring and can be called back for special business.
- Town elections: Belmont votes in the spring. The 2026 annual town election was held on April 7. The next is in spring 2027.
- State and federal elections: even-numbered years. The 2026 state primary comes this fall, with early voting at Town Hall in late August, and the general election follows in November.
Explore the Belmont Edition
- Town Administrator’s OfficeThe town’s chief administrator
- Select BoardYour three board members
- School CommitteeSuperintendent & committee
- Town DepartmentsWho does what at Town Hall
- Boards & CommissionsWhere residents serve
- LegislatorsYour voice in Boston & D.C.
- Belmont HistoryThree towns, one Belmont
- DemographicsWho lives in Belmont
- Non-ProfitsCommunity organizations
- Student DataBelmont Public Schools by the numbers
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 Middlesex County, and that includes Belmont. 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 Belmont
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, and police or fire go to the Select Board. Schools go to the School Committee. The budget and bylaws are voted by Town Meeting.
- Find the meeting. The Select Board typically meets two Monday evenings a month at 7 pm at Town Hall, 455 Concord Avenue, and the agenda is posted in advance.
- Know your members. All three Select Board members are elected town-wide, so every one of them answers to you.
- Speak. Meetings are hybrid, in person and online, and residents may address the board. Check the agenda for how to sign up.
- Or skip the trip. Report a pothole, a broken light, or a missed pickup through the Connect & Report service on the town website, belmont-ma.gov.
- Town Hall: Belmont Town Offices, 455 Concord Avenue, Belmont, MA 02478. Select Board office 617-993-2610.
- Town Clerk & agendas: 617-993-2603, with meeting agendas and minutes posted at belmont-ma.gov.
- Public schools: Belmont Public Schools, 617-993-5400, belmont.k12.ma.us.
Local government works best when residents show up. Meet your Select Board, speak at a Monday meeting, or run for Town Meeting in your precinct.