Town Leadership
The Blandford Town Administrator’s Office
The Town Administrator
Cristina Ferrera
When a road goes unplowed or a culvert washes out on a hilltown back road, the person with the most operational control over the response is appointed, not elected. Cristina Ferrera is Blandford’s Town Administrator, hired by the three elected members of the Select Board and appointed for a term of one to three years under state law, and the board can let her go if it loses faith in her. She is the town’s chief administrative officer under the strategic direction of the Select Board: she helps oversee the town departments, activities, and projects the board and Town Meeting place in her charge. Because Blandford hands that daily work to an appointed administrator rather than running everything through the three-member board alone, the plan to fix a problem usually starts here, then goes to the board, and then to the voters at Town Meeting who hold the money.
| Role | Town Administrator (chief administrative officer) |
|---|---|
| Selection | Appointed by the Select Board for a term of one to three years under M.G.L. c.41 s.23A, not elected |
| Office | Town Hall, 1 Russell Stage Road, Blandford, MA 01008 |
| Phone | (413) 848-4279, ext. 502 |
| Website | townofblandford.gov |
What the Town Administrator Does
- Runs the departments. Highway, police, fire, health, the library, and the rest coordinate through the Town Administrator’s office at Town Hall.
- Helps build the budget. Each year the town assembles a plan for how it will spend its money, department by department, and defends that plan before the Select Board and Town Meeting, which holds the final vote.
- Answers to the board. The Town Administrator serves under the elected Select Board and carries out the policies it sets.
- Reports to Town Meeting. Major spending and bylaws still need the vote of Town Meeting, and in Blandford that means every registered voter who walks in.
The Administration
- Department heads carry out policy day to day, from plowing the hill roads to inspecting a septic system.
- The Select Board is the check: it hires and can dismiss the Town Administrator, sets policy, and signs the warrants that put questions before Town Meeting.
- Boards and commissions, some elected and some appointed by the Select Board, decide questions like zoning, conservation, and public health.
Contact & Engage
- Town Hall: 1 Russell Stage Road, Blandford, MA 01008.
- Town Administrator: (413) 848-4279, ext. 502.
- Report a problem: potholes, downed limbs, and washed-out roads go to the Highway Department.
- Show up: the Select Board meets on Monday evenings about twice a month at Town Hall, and the public is welcome.
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MassCivics last checked this page on September 26, 2026.
Sources
- Town records: Town of Blandford, Town of Blandford Bylaws, revised October 2025, as of October 2025.