Town Edition
Worcester County
Charlton, Massachusetts
Photo: PeterCooperJr, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons.
In May 2024 the voters of Charlton took on a big bill twice over: first at town meeting and then again at the ballot box, they said yes to an $18.5 million fire station and yes to the tax bill that pays for it. Crews broke ground the next spring at 4 Oxford Road, right next to Charlton Middle School, and the town’s own numbers say the new Station 2 will cut the average travel time to a call from 4 minutes 31 seconds to 3 minutes 50. That is the whole machine in one decision. A room of registered voters said yes to the building, the same voters said yes at the polls to the money, and now there is concrete in the ground on Oxford Road. This guide shows you how to get into that room.
Charlton at a Glance
Sources: Massachusetts DESE, school and district profiles · US Census Bureau (data.census.gov).
- County: Worcester. Both the Massachusetts Turnpike and Route 20 run through Charlton, and the Fire Department’s own figures put its primary response area at 43.8 square miles, large portions of those two roads included.
- Government: open Town Meeting, with an elected five-member Select Board and an appointed Town Administrator, Andrew M. Golas.
- Schools: the Dudley-Charlton Regional School District, about 3,425 students in seven schools, led by Superintendent Steven Lamarche.
How Charlton’s Government Works
Charlton runs on an open Town Meeting, which means there are no elected Town Meeting members at all: every registered voter in Charlton is a member, and any of them can walk in, speak, and vote on the budget. Voters also elect a 5 member Select Board to set policy between meetings and the School Committee that oversees the schools. The Select Board hires a professional Town Administrator to run the town day to day. So the money is voted by whoever shows up, the direction is set by the Select Board, and the daily work is carried out by the Town Administrator.
Town Meeting
The legislative body, and it is not a committee. Every registered voter in Charlton is a member. Town Meeting adopts the annual budget, passes town bylaws, and approves major spending. This is direct democracy in its literal sense.
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 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
7 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 the 5 members of the Select Board and the School Committee.
- The Select Board hires the Town Administrator and decides what goes on the Town Meeting warrant.
- Town Meeting votes the budget and the bylaws, and every registered voter present can vote.
- You take part: register at 16, vote at 18, and once you are registered you are already a member of Town Meeting.
Civic Calendar
- Select Board: the second and fourth Tuesday of the month at 6:30 p.m. from September to May, in the Selectmen’s Meeting Room at 37 Main Street. The board keeps a lighter summer schedule, and it posts every agenda in advance.
- Town Meeting: the Annual Town Meeting falls on a day in May set by the Select Board and is held in the auditorium at Charlton Middle School, 2 Oxford Road. The 2026 annual meeting was Monday, May 18, and a Special Town Meeting is set for October 19, 2026.
- Town elections: Charlton votes on a Saturday, with the polls open 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. in the gymnasium at Heritage School, 34 Oxford Road. The 2026 annual town election was May 2.
- State and federal elections: Tuesdays, 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. In 2026 the State Primary is September 1 and the State Election is November 3, with a Special School Election on September 29.
Explore the Charlton Edition
- Town Administrator’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.
- Charlton HistoryA tavern at a crossroads, and 1755
- DemographicsWho lives in Charlton
- Non-ProfitsCommunity organizations
- Student DataDudley-Charlton Regional 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 Worcester County, and that includes Charlton. 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 Charlton
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 meets the second and fourth Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. at 37 Main Street from September to May, and every agenda is posted in advance on the town’s Agenda Center.
- Know your members. Five Select Board members are elected town-wide, so every one of them answers to you.
- Speak. Meetings are open to the public and residents may address the board. The Select Board keeps an Open Forum near the top of its agenda, and the May 12, 2026 minutes show two residents using it.
- Or skip the trip. Report a pothole, a broken light, or a washed out shoulder to the Highway Department, which is the department that owns the repair.
- Town Hall: Charlton Municipal Offices, 37 Main Street, Charlton, MA 01507. Select Board office 508-248-2206.
- Town Clerk & agendas: 508-248-2249, with meeting agendas and minutes posted at townofcharlton.net.
- Public schools: the Dudley-Charlton Regional School District, 508-943-6888, dcrsd.org.
Local government works best when residents show up. Find your Select Board, speak at a meeting on the town’s published calendar, or simply register to vote and take your seat at Town Meeting.