Town Leadership
The Town Administrator’s Office
The Town Administrator
Blythe Robinson, Interim Town Administrator
When a road goes unplowed or a permit stalls, the person with the most operational control over the response is appointed, not elected. Blythe Robinson serves as Brookfield’s Interim Town Administrator, hired by the three elected members of the Select Board to run the town day to day, and the board can end that appointment if it loses confidence. The Town Administrator is the town’s chief administrative officer: the office assists the Select Board, shapes and presents the annual budget, oversees the daily work of the departments, and carries the town’s biggest spending requests to Town Meeting for the final vote. The administrator is appointed by the Select Board and serves under contract. Because Brookfield hands the daily machinery to an appointed administrator, the plan to fix a problem usually crosses this desk first, then goes to the board and to Town Meeting. Brookfield is a small town, so the office is a general one: the same person coordinates budgets, personnel, and the town’s response to whatever a given week brings.
| Current holder | Blythe Robinson, Interim Town Administrator |
|---|---|
| Role | Chief administrative officer, appointed by the Select Board |
| Selection | Appointed under contract, not elected |
| Office | Brookfield Town Hall, 6 Central Street, Brookfield, MA 01506 |
| Phone | (508) 867-2930, Ext. 14 |
| townadministrator@brookfieldma.us | |
| Website | brookfieldma.us |
What the Town Administrator Does
- Runs the departments. Police, fire, highway, health, the library, and the rest answer to the Town Administrator, who coordinates their day-to-day work.
- Builds the budget. Each year the administrator proposes how the town will spend its money, then defends that plan before the Select Board and Town Meeting, which holds the final vote.
- Answers to the board. The administrator serves at the pleasure of 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 Brookfield that means every registered voter who walks in.
The Administration
- Department heads carry out policy, from plowing snow to inspecting food service, and coordinate with the Town Administrator.
- The Select Board is the check: it hires and can release the administrator, sets policy, and signs the warrants that put questions before Town Meeting.
- Boards and commissions, many of them appointed by the Select Board, decide questions like zoning, conservation, and public health.
Contact & Engage
- Town Hall: 6 Central Street, Brookfield, MA 01506.
- Town Administrator’s Office: (508) 867-2930, Ext. 14.
- Report a problem: road, drainage, and snow issues go to the Highway Department at (508) 867-8357.
- Show up: the Select Board meets on the first and third Wednesday of each month at Town Hall, and the public is welcome.
Want to weigh in on a town decision? Learn how to contact your officials so they actually hear you.