Town Leadership
The Eastham Town Manager’s Office
The Town Manager
Rich Bienvenue
When a road goes unplowed or a permit stalls, the person with the most operational control over the response is appointed, not elected. Rich Bienvenue is Eastham’s Town Manager, hired by the five elected members of the Select Board on a vote of at least four of them, and serving at their pleasure. The office is not the same as the Town Administrator most Massachusetts towns have, and the difference is written into Eastham’s own home-rule charter. Under section C5-4 the Town Manager appoints all department heads, officers and employees of the town, with two carve-outs: the school department and the library hire their own staff, and the Police and Fire Chiefs appoint their own department members subject to the Town Manager’s approval. Sections C5-3 and C5-7 put the operating budget, the payment warrants and the day-to-day running of the departments in the manager’s hands, under the policy direction of the Select Board. So the plan to fix a problem usually starts here, then goes to the board, and then to the room where every registered voter can vote it down.
| Role | Town Manager (chief administrative officer) |
|---|---|
| Selection | Appointed by the Select Board and serving at its pleasure, not elected |
| Office | Town Hall, 2500 State Highway, Eastham, MA 02642 |
| Phone | 508-240-5900 |
| Website | eastham-ma.gov |
What the Town Manager Does
- Appoints the department heads. Charter section C5-4 gives the Town Manager the appointment of the town’s department heads, officers and employees. The school department and the library hire their own staff, and the Police and Fire Chiefs appoint their own department members subject to the Town Manager’s approval. This appointing power is why the office is called Manager here.
- Builds the budget. Each year the Town Manager prepares the operating budget, approves the warrants that pay the town’s bills, and carries out the day-to-day financial administration of the town, all under the policy direction of the Select Board.
- Answers to the board. The Town Manager is the agent of the Select Board, works under its policy direction, and serves at its pleasure.
- Runs the departments. Every department that residents contact for a permit, a repair or a service reports up through the Town Manager, which is why the Select Board holds one person accountable for all of them.
What the Charter Splits Between Them
Eastham is governed under a home-rule charter with a Select Board and Town Manager form. The charter divides the work three ways, and the division is worth knowing before you decide whom to write to.
- Town Meeting holds the legislative power outright, which means the budget and the bylaws. Nothing in the manager’s authority reaches that.
- The Select Board is the chief policy-making board. It appoints the Town Manager, it appoints the boards and committees the charter does not assign to the manager, and it signs the warrant that decides what Town Meeting gets to vote on.
- The Town Manager runs what the charter gives the office: the departments and their heads, the budget, the purchasing and the personnel administration, and with the board’s approval may reorganize a department.
The reader’s takeaway is simple. The money is voted by everyone in the Town Meeting hall, the direction is set by the five members you elect to the Select Board, and the daily work is carried out by the Town Manager the board hires. If you want to change a policy, the board is your room; if you want to change the budget, Town Meeting is.
Contact & Engage
- Town Hall: 2500 State Highway, Eastham, MA 02642. Open Monday through Thursday 8AM to 4PM, and Friday 8AM to noon.
- Town Manager’s Office: 508-240-5900.
- Report a problem: potholes, water and snow go to the Department of Public Works at 774-801-0520.
- Show up: the Select Board meets on its published calendar 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.
MassCivics last checked this page on October 20, 2026.
Sources
- Town records: Town of Eastham, Town Manager, as of October 2026.
- Charter and bylaws: Massachusetts General Court, Acts of 2022, Chapter 317, the Eastham home rule charter, as of 2022.