Town Leadership
The Town Administrator’s Office
The Town Administrator
Jason Silva
When a road goes unplowed or a budget has to be built, the person with the most operational control over the response is appointed, not elected. Jason Silva is the Town Administrator, hired by the three elected members of the Select Board to run Dunstable day to day, and they can let him go if they lose faith in him. He is the chief administrative officer of a small town, which means he wears many hats at once: he appoints and supervises most department heads, shapes and presents the annual budget, and carries the town’s biggest spending requests to Town Meeting for the final vote. In a town this size the administrator is often the first professional a resident reaches when something needs fixing, and the person who turns a Select Board policy into an actual plan with a cost attached. He negotiates contracts, oversees the town’s finances alongside the Town Accountant and the Treasurer, and coordinates the departments that answer to Town Hall, from the Highway Department to the Council on Aging. What he does not have is a vote at Town Meeting or a seat on the board. His job is to prepare and to execute; the decisions belong to the elected Select Board and, on the money and the bylaws, to every registered voter who shows up. Because Dunstable hands the daily machinery to an appointed administrator, the plan to fix a problem usually crosses his desk first, then goes to the board, and finally to Town Meeting.
| Role | Town Administrator (chief administrative officer) |
|---|---|
| Selection | Appointed by the Select Board under contract, not elected |
| Office | Town Hall, 511 Main Street, Dunstable, MA 01827 |
| Phone | (978) 649-4514 |
| Website | dunstable-ma.gov/town-administrator |
What the Town Administrator Does
- Runs the departments. Police, fire, highway, health, and the rest answer to the Town Administrator, who appoints or supervises most of their leaders.
- Builds the budget. Each year the Administrator proposes how the town will spend its money for town services and the regional schools, 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 Dunstable that means every registered voter who walks in.
The Administration
- Department heads are appointed or supervised by the Town Administrator and carry out policy, from plowing snow to inspecting new construction.
- The Select Board is the check: it hires and can fire 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 licensing.
Contact & Engage
- Town Hall: 511 Main Street, Dunstable, MA 01827.
- Town Administrator’s Office: (978) 649-4514, with the Executive Assistant to the Town Administrator and Select Board at ext. 224.
- Report a problem: potholes, downed trees, and road repairs go to the Highway Department.
- Show up: the Select Board meets the first and third Tuesday of the 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.