Douglas, Massachusetts

Photo: Daderot, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons.

In 1746 the people here made a trade you will not see offered today. A Boston physician named William Douglass put up $500, thirty acres of land, a house, and a barn to endow free schools, on one condition: that the settlement take his name. The town said yes, and it has been Douglas ever since. That instinct, to spend on the next generation and to decide it together in one room, still runs the place. Douglas governs itself by open Town Meeting, where any registered voter in town can walk in, stand up, and vote the budget in person. A five member Board of Selectmen sets policy between meetings and hires a Town Administrator to run the day to day. This guide shows you how to get into the room, and every other one where Douglas decides.

Douglas at a Glance

8,983Residents (2020)

1775Incorporated

5Board of Selectmen Members

1,077Students

Sources: Massachusetts DESE, district profile · US Census Bureau (data.census.gov) · Town of Douglas.

County: Worcester. Douglas sits in the far south of the county, where Massachusetts meets Connecticut and Rhode Island. Douglas State Forest fills the town’s southwestern corner around Wallum Lake.
Government: open Town Meeting, with an elected five member Board of Selectmen and an appointed Town Administrator, a post Police Chief Nick L. Miglionico holds as Temporary Town Administrator.
Schools: Douglas Public Schools, a single town Pre-K to 12 district of about 1,077 students, led by Superintendent Paul Vieira.

How Douglas’s Government Works

Douglas runs on an open Town Meeting, which means there are no elected Town Meeting members at all: every registered voter in Douglas is a member, and any of them can walk in, speak, and vote on the budget. Voters also elect a 5 member Board of Selectmen to set policy between meetings and the School Committee that oversees the schools. The Board of Selectmen 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 Board of Selectmen, 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 Douglas is a member. Town Meeting adopts the annual budget, passes town bylaws, and approves major spending. This is direct democracy in its literal sense.

Board of Selectmen

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 Board of Selectmen. Hired under contract, not elected.

School Committee

5 members, elected town-wide to run the single town Douglas Public Schools. It sets school policy, approves the school budget, and hires the Superintendent.

Residents elect the 5 members of the Board of Selectmen and the School Committee.
The Board of Selectmen 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: pre-register at 16. A pre-registrant is on the list but is not allowed to vote yet. Once you turn 18 that designation comes off on its own and you are a registered voter in Douglas, which makes you a member of Town Meeting with a vote on the floor. If you never pre-registered, register with the Town Clerk, and do it well ahead: the rolls close at 5 p.m. on the tenth day before any election or Town Meeting.

Civic Calendar

Board of Selectmen: meets the first and third Tuesday of the month at 6:00 p.m. in the Resource Room at the Municipal Center, 29 Depot Street. The agenda is posted in advance, so check the town calendar before you go.
Town Meeting: the Annual Town Meeting is held in the spring at Douglas High School, and the town can call a Special Town Meeting when business cannot wait. The 2026 Annual Town Meeting convened on May 4 in the Douglas High School Auditorium.
Town elections: Douglas holds its Annual Town Election in the spring, and the Board of Selectmen and School Committee run on staggered three-year terms, so a couple of seats are on the ballot each year. The next is in spring 2027.
State and federal elections: even-numbered years. The 2026 state election is on November 3.

Explore the Douglas Edition

Your County Officials

Two of the people with the most direct power over your life are elected, and neither one sits on Beacon Hill. The district attorney decides who gets charged with a crime, and what they get charged with. The sheriff runs the county jail. The sheriff is elected by the voters of Worcester County. The district attorney is elected by the voters of a prosecution district, and Massachusetts draws eleven of those across its fourteen counties, so a district attorney’s territory does not always follow a county line. Both appear on your ballot in Douglas. Now you know what to look for.

District Attorney, Middle District

Joseph D. Early Jr.

In office since 2007
Official site

Sheriff, Worcester County

Lew Evangelidis

In office since 2011
Official site

Massachusetts elects fourteen sheriffs, one for each county, and eleven district attorneys, one for each prosecution district. 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.

Officials for any Massachusetts town

Your First Civic Action in Douglas

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 Board of Selectmen. Schools go to the School Committee. The budget and bylaws are voted by Town Meeting.
Find the meeting. The Board of Selectmen meets the first and third Tuesday of the month at the Municipal Center, 29 Depot Street, and the agenda is posted in advance.
Know your members. All five Board of Selectmen 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. Check the agenda for how to sign up.
Or skip the trip. Report a pothole, a broken light, or a water main problem to the Highway Department, which owns the repair.

Municipal Center: 29 Depot Street, Douglas, MA 01516. Town Hall main line 508-476-4000.
Town Clerk & agendas: 508-476-4000, ext. 255, with meeting agendas and minutes posted at douglas-ma.gov.
Public schools: Douglas Public Schools, 508-476-7901, douglasps.net.

Local government works best when residents show up. Find your Board of Selectmen, speak at a meeting on the town’s published calendar, or simply register to vote and take your seat at Town Meeting.

Meet Your Board of Selectmen

Take Action in Your Town

MassCivics last checked this page on October 15, 2026.

Sources

Population and demographics: US Census Bureau, Census profile of Douglas town, Worcester County (American Community Survey 5-year estimates 2020-2024 and the 2020 Census), as of April 1, 2020 and December 31, 2024.
Schools and districts: Massachusetts DESE, Douglas Student Profile (code 00770000), as of October 1, 2025.
Town records: Town of Douglas, About Douglas, as of October 2026.
Town records: Town of Douglas, Administration, as of October 2026.
Town records: Town of Douglas, Board of Selectmen, as of October 2026.
Town records: Town of Douglas, Town Meeting Information, as of October 2026.
Town Clerk records: Town of Douglas, Annual Election Information, as of October 2026.
Town Clerk records: Town of Douglas, Town Clerk, as of October 2026.
History and incorporation: Secretary of the Commonwealth, City and Town Incorporation and Settlement Dates, as of August 23, 1775.
History and incorporation: Secretary of the Commonwealth, MHC Reconnaissance Survey Town Report, Douglas (1984), as of January 1984.
School district records: Douglas Public Schools, Douglas Public School District, as of October 2026.