Town Leadership
The Town Manager’s Office
The Town Manager
Michael Renshaw
Falmouth has never had a mayor. When a street goes unplowed or the school budget runs short, the person with the most day to day control was never a name on your ballot. Michael Renshaw is the Town Manager, hired by the five elected members of the Select Board in June 2023 to run the town, and they can let him go if they lose faith in him. He is the chief administrative officer: he hires and supervises most department heads, prepares and presents the annual budget, and carries the town’s biggest spending requests to representative Town Meeting for the final vote. Renshaw came up as a career local-government manager, with a master’s in public administration, the ICMA-CM credential that marks a professional town and city manager, and close to three decades of municipal experience. Because Falmouth hands the daily machinery to an appointed manager, the plan to fix a problem usually crosses his desk first, then goes to the board and to Town Meeting.
| Role | Town Manager (chief administrative officer) |
|---|---|
| In office | Since June 2023 |
| Selection | Appointed by the Select Board under contract, not elected |
| Office | Town Hall, 59 Town Hall Square, Falmouth, MA 02540 |
| Phone | 508-495-7320 |
| Website | falmouthma.gov |
What the Town Manager Does
- Runs the departments. Police, fire, public works, health, recreation, and the rest answer to the Town Manager, who appoints most of their leaders.
- Builds the budget. Each year the Manager proposes how the town will spend its money, then defends that plan before the Select Board and Town Meeting.
- Answers to the board. The Manager 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 the representative Town Meeting, the roughly 243 elected members.
The Administration
- Department heads are appointed by the Town Manager and carry out policy, from plowing snow to inspecting restaurants.
- The Select Board is the check: it hires and can fire the Manager, sets policy, and appoints residents to many town boards.
- Boards and commissions, many of them appointed by the Select Board, decide questions like zoning, conservation, and licensing.
Contact & Engage
- Town Hall: 59 Town Hall Square, Falmouth, MA 02540.
- Town Manager’s Office: 508-495-7320, townmanager@falmouthma.gov.
- Report a problem: service requests like potholes and missed pickups go through the Department of Public Works at 508-457-2543 or the town’s online tools at falmouthma.gov.
- Show up: the Select Board meets on scheduled Monday evenings at Town Hall, and the public is welcome.
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