Town Leadership
The Select Board’s Office
Three Executives, All of Them Elected
The Select Board as Executive
When a road goes unplowed in Egremont, the response does not cross an administrator’s desk, because the town does not employ one. The three elected members of the Select Board, Lucinda Fenn-Vermeulen, Judi Goodman, and Mary Brazie, run the town themselves. The Town Bylaws and the General Laws of Massachusetts grant the board broad powers to govern: it acts as the town’s primary policy-making body, appoints the town’s boards and committees, recommends the budget to the Annual Town Meeting, oversees the town’s departments and its staff, and serves as the local licensing authority. Most Massachusetts towns of this shape hire a professional Town Administrator to carry the daily machinery; Egremont keeps that machinery in the hands of the people it elects, supported by an administrative office at Town Hall. That changes what an election here means. When you vote for a Select Board member, you are not choosing someone to supervise a manager, you are choosing a working executive. The person who answers for the plowing schedule and the FY27 budget sits at a public table at Town Hall on Tuesday evenings, and the seat across from them is open to any resident who walks in.
| Role | Select Board, the town’s executive and licensing authority |
|---|---|
| Selection | Three members elected town-wide to staggered three-year terms |
| Office | 171 Egremont Plain Road (Route 71), Egremont, MA 01258 |
| Phone | 413-528-0182 |
| Website | egremont-ma.gov/182/Select-Board |
What the Select Board’s Office Does
- Sets policy. The board acts as the town’s primary policy-making body on the whole range of issues that affect Egremont’s development and services.
- Builds the warrant. The board decides what reaches Town Meeting, signing the warrant for every Annual and Special Town Meeting.
- Recommends the budget. The board recommends the annual budget to the Annual Town Meeting, alongside the Finance Committee’s review, and Town Meeting holds the final vote.
- Licenses. The board is the town’s local licensing authority for the permits state law puts in its hands, from common victuallers to one-day and seasonal licenses.
- Answers to Town Meeting. Major spending and bylaws still need the vote of Town Meeting, and in Egremont that means every registered voter who walks in.
The Administration
- The office staff: an administrative assistant runs the Select Board’s office day to day at Town Hall, open to the public on weekdays from 7:00 AM to 3:00 PM.
- Elected offices carry much of the work. Egremont fills a long town ballot each May, including the Assessors, the Board of Health, the Planning Board, the Cemetery Commission, the Library Trustees, and the town’s seats on the regional School Committee, so the executive branch here is a web of ballots, not one org chart.
- Boards and commissions, permanent and ad hoc, are appointed by the Select Board and decide questions like zoning, conservation, and historic preservation.
Contact & Engage
- Town offices: 171 Egremont Plain Road (Route 71), with public office hours on weekdays from 7:00 AM to 3:00 PM.
- Select Board’s office: 413-528-0182, reachable through the town’s Select Board page.
- Report a problem: potholes, broken signs, and plowing go to the Highway Department, 413-528-1106.
- Show up: the board meets on Tuesdays, and the public is welcome.
Want to weigh in on a town decision? Learn how to contact your officials so they actually hear you.