Barnstable County
Falmouth, Massachusetts
The woman who wrote the words to America the Beautiful grew up in your town, and the largest independent ocean research institution in the country sits at its tip in Woods Hole. Falmouth is the second-largest town on Cape Cod, a place of harbors, kettle ponds, and salt marsh where a year-round population of about 32,000 more than doubles every summer. It is also old: settled by Quakers in the 1600s and incorporated in 1686. This guide shows you how Falmouth runs today: Representative Town Meeting, the Select Board, the appointed Town Manager, the legislators who carry your voice to Boston and Washington, and the data behind it all.
The Falmouth Civics Handbook
A plain-language guide to how your town works: who represents you, how decisions get made, and how to make your voice heard. Read it online.
Falmouth at a Glance
- County: Barnstable. Falmouth sits at the southwest corner of Cape Cod, its long shoreline facing Vineyard Sound and Buzzards Bay, with the ferry to Martha’s Vineyard leaving from Woods Hole.
- Government: representative Town Meeting with an elected five-member Select Board and an appointed Town Manager, Michael Renshaw, who has run the town since 2023.
- Schools: Falmouth Public Schools, about 2,783 students across seven schools, led by Superintendent Lori S. Duerr. The teams are the Clippers.
How Falmouth’s Government Works
Falmouth has no mayor. It runs on a representative Town Meeting, an old New England form scaled up for a big town. Voters in each of the town’s nine precincts elect Town Meeting members, about 243 in all, and those neighbors hold the final vote on the budget and the bylaws. Voters also elect a five-member Select Board to set policy and a nine-member School Committee to oversee the schools. The Select Board hires a professional Town Manager to run the town day to day. So the levers are split on purpose: residents elect the people, Town Meeting votes the money, the Select Board sets direction, and the Town Manager carries it out.
Town Meeting
The legislative body. About 243 members elected from nine precincts adopt the annual budget, pass town bylaws, and approve major spending. It is representative democracy at close range.
Select Board
Five members elected town-wide. They set policy, appoint many boards, and hire and supervise the Town Manager. There is no single chief executive.
Town Manager
The appointed chief administrator. Runs the departments, builds the budget, and answers to the Select Board. Hired under contract, not elected.
School Committee
Nine members elected town-wide. It sets school policy, approves the school budget, and hires the Superintendent.
- Residents elect Town Meeting members, the five Select Board members, and the nine School Committee members.
- The Select Board hires the Town Manager and sets town policy.
- Town Meeting votes the budget and the bylaws up or down.
- You take part: run for Town Meeting at 18, speak at a Select Board meeting, or testify at Town Meeting.
Civic Calendar
- Select Board: meets on scheduled Monday evenings at Town Hall, 59 Town Hall Square, and the meetings are open to the public.
- Town Meeting: the representative Town Meeting holds its main session in the spring and can be called back in the fall for special business.
- Town elections: Falmouth votes in May. The next annual town election is in May 2027.
- State and federal elections: even-numbered years. The 2026 primary and general are this fall.
Town Government
Community & Data
Your First Civic Action in Falmouth
Town government can feel like a closed door, but in Falmouth the door is a public meeting anyone can walk into. Here is how to make your first move count.
- Pick the right body. Money and town policy go to the Select Board and, for the budget and bylaws, to representative Town Meeting. Anything about your school goes to the School Committee.
- Find the meeting. The Select Board meets on scheduled Monday evenings in the Select Board Meeting Room at Town Hall, 59 Town Hall Square. Agendas are posted in advance at falmouthma.gov.
- Know your selectmen. All five are elected town-wide: Heather M. H. Goldstone, Colin W. Reed, Douglas C. Brown, Robert P. Mascali, and Elizabeth Klein.
- Speak. Most meetings make room for public comment. You do not need to be old enough to vote to stand up and be heard.
- Town Hall: 59 Town Hall Square, Falmouth, MA 02540. Town Manager’s office 508-495-7320.
- Town Clerk & agendas: elections and records through the Town Clerk at 508-495-7360, with meeting agendas posted at falmouthma.gov.
- Public schools: Falmouth Public Schools, 508-548-0151, falmouthschools.org.
Local government works best when residents show up. Find your Select Board, speak at a Monday meeting, or run for Town Meeting in your precinct.