Town Leadership
The Town Administrator’s Office
The Town Administrator
Elizabeth C. Sullivan
When a road goes unplowed, or a wastewater project tears up Route 134, or a beach sticker price changes, the person with the most operational control over the answer is appointed, not elected. Elizabeth C. Sullivan is the Town Administrator of Dennis, hired by the five elected members of the Select Board, and the board can end that appointment if it loses confidence in her. She is the town’s chief administrative officer. She appoints and supervises most department heads, she builds the annual budget department by department, and she carries the town’s largest spending requests to Town Meeting, where the final vote is not hers.
The split between the board and the administrator is worth learning, because it tells you where to push. The Select Board decides WHAT the town should do: it sets policy, signs the warrant that decides which articles Town Meeting even gets to vote on, and appoints residents to boards. The Town Administrator decides HOW it gets done: which crew goes out, which contract gets signed, which department gets the position. A resident who wants a policy changed goes to the board on a Tuesday afternoon. A resident who wants a specific thing fixed goes to the administrator’s office, or to the department itself, and gets an answer faster.
The office sits at Town Hall on Route 134 in South Dennis, alongside an Assistant Town Administrator and the executive staff who post the meeting agendas. Sullivan is at the Select Board table at every regular meeting, and the minutes record what she was asked and what she answered. Those minutes are public, filed with the Town Clerk, and posted on the town’s website, so you can read what she said about the wastewater project or the Local Comprehensive Plan without asking anyone’s permission.
| Role | Town Administrator (chief administrative officer) |
|---|---|
| Selection | Appointed by the Select Board under contract, not elected |
| Office | Town Hall, 685 Route 134, South Dennis, MA 02660 |
| Phone | 508-760-6148 |
| Website | town.dennis.ma.us |
What the Town Administrator Does
- Runs the departments. Police, fire, public works, health, natural resources, recreation, and the rest answer to the Town Administrator, who appoints most of their leaders.
- 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 Dennis that means every registered voter who walks in.
The Administration
- Department heads are appointed by the Town Administrator and carry out policy, from plowing snow to inspecting restaurants.
- 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, shellfish, and licensing.
Contact & Engage
- Town Hall: 685 Route 134, South Dennis, MA 02660, open 8:30 am to 4:30 pm Monday through Friday.
- Town Administrator’s Office: 508-760-6148.
- Report a problem: potholes, broken lights, and missed pickups go to the Department of Public Works at 508-760-6220.
- Show up: the Select Board meets Tuesdays at 4:00 pm in the Stone Hearing Room 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.