Town Leadership
The Town Administrator’s Office
The Town Administrator
Charles Seelig
When a road goes unplowed, a permit stalls, or a cell tower is proposed on town land off Washington Street, the person with the most operational control over the response is appointed, not elected. Charles Seelig is East Bridgewater’s Town Administrator. The town describes the job in one sentence: the primary duty of the Town Administrator is the day to day administration of the general government, and to assist in the formulation and implementation of policy. He is hired by the three elected members of the Select Board, he serves under contract, and the board can let him go if it loses confidence in him.
That makes the office the hinge between what residents decide and what actually gets done. The administrator assembles the annual budget department by department and proposes it, then defends it in front of the Select Board and again in front of Town Meeting, where the final vote belongs to whoever is in the hall. He runs the departments between meetings, brings contracts and appointments to the board for a vote, and is the person a department head goes to when a plan needs money or a decision.
The appointing power is worth understanding, because it is shared and it is public. The Select Board appoints the Town Administrator, the Police Chief, the Fire Chief and the Town Accountant, along with many boards, committees and commissions. In June 2026 that power ran in the open: on June 8 the board voted a contract appointing John Haines Director of Public Works for the term July 1, 2026 through June 30, 2029, and on June 22 it voted to appoint Michael Jenkins Chief of Police for the same three years. Both votes were taken in a meeting anyone could attend.
So the path for a resident is short and it is knowable. A problem that needs a repair goes to a department. A problem that needs a policy goes onto the Select Board agenda, which the administrator prepares. A problem that needs money goes onto the Town Meeting warrant, and there the deciding vote is yours.
| Role | Town Administrator (chief administrative officer) |
|---|---|
| Selection | Appointed by the Select Board under contract, not elected |
| Office | Town Hall, 175 Central Street, East Bridgewater, MA 02333 |
| Phone | 508-378-1601 |
| Website | eastbridgewaterma.gov |
What the Town Administrator Does
- Runs the departments. Police, fire, public works, health, the library, veterans’ services and the rest answer up through the Town Administrator’s office.
- 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 East Bridgewater that means every registered voter who walks in.
The Administration
- An Assistant Town Administrator works alongside the office. Rebecca Johnson holds that post, combined with the role of Human Resources Coordinator.
- Department heads carry out policy, from plowing snow to inspecting restaurants, and their contracts come back to the Select Board for a public vote.
- 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: 175 Central Street, East Bridgewater, MA 02333.
- Town Administrator’s Office: 508-378-1601. Open Monday 8:30 am to 7 pm, Tuesday through Thursday 8:30 am to 4:30 pm, and Friday 8:30 am to noon.
- Report a problem: potholes, broken lights and missed pickups go to the Department of Public Works.
- Show up: the Select Board meets at 6 pm on the second and fourth Mondays of most months 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.