City Edition
Middlesex County
Framingham, Massachusetts
For more than three hundred years Framingham was a town, and one of the biggest in the entire country. Then, on January 1, 2018, it flipped a switch and became a city, the newest one in Massachusetts, with a mayor, a city council, and a budget that decides whether your street gets plowed and your school gets fixed. This guide shows you who holds that power in Framingham, where they sit, and how you reach them.
The Framingham Civics Handbook
This is the plain-language companion to everything on this site: how local government in Framingham actually works, who does what, how a decision moves from an idea to a vote, and where you fit in. You can read it online.
Framingham at a Glance
Sources: Massachusetts DESE, district profile · US Census Bureau (data.census.gov).
- County: Middlesex, out in the MetroWest region west of Boston. Framingham is the 14th most populous community in Massachusetts.
- Government: a strong-mayor system. Voters approved a city charter, and Framingham became a city on January 1, 2018. Mayor Charlie Sisitsky has run the city since 2022 and won a second term in 2025.
- Schools: Framingham Public Schools teaches about 8,500 students across 14 schools.
How Framingham’s Government Works
- The MayorYour elected chief executive. The mayor runs the city departments, writes the budget, hires the department heads, and can veto what the Council passes. One person, a lot of leverage.
- City CouncilThe 11 people who make the rules: nine district councilors and two elected citywide. They pass ordinances, control the budget, and can override the mayor’s veto with a strong enough vote.
- School CommitteeA separately elected nine-member board that sets policy for your schools and hires the superintendent. In Framingham the mayor does not get a seat, so this board answers only to voters.
- You and your neighbors elect the mayor, the councilors, and the school committee.
- The mayor proposes a budget and policies. The Council digs in, changes them, and votes.
- The mayor then runs the daily work of the city and carries out those decisions.
- Between elections, boards, commissions, and public meetings are where residents push back.
Explore the Framingham Edition
- Mayor’s OfficeFramingham’s elected chief executive and administration.
- City CouncilThe 11-member elected legislative body.
- School CommitteeThe elected board overseeing the public schools.
- DepartmentsThe offices that deliver city services every day.
- Boards & CommissionsResident volunteers shaping policy and review.
- LegislatorsYour state and federal representatives.
- HistoryFrom Nipmuc homeland to the Commonwealth’s newest city.
- DemographicsWho lives in Framingham, by the numbers.
- Non-ProfitsOrganizations serving Framingham residents.
- Student DataEnrollment and the school district in detail.
Civic Calendar
- City Council: meets at the Memorial Building, 150 Concord Street, on the first, third, and fifth Tuesday of the month at 7 p.m. Agendas and the approved calendar are posted on the city website.
- School Committee: meets to set district policy and approve the school budget. Agendas are posted by Framingham Public Schools.
- Municipal elections: the mayor and the two at-large councilors serve four-year terms. District councilors and school committee members serve two-year terms. Every term starts January 1.
- State and federal: state primaries and elections land in even-numbered years. Check with the City Clerk for the dates and your polling place.
Your County Officials
Two of the people with the most direct power over your life are elected countywide. The district attorney decides who gets charged with a crime, and what they get charged with. The sheriff runs the county jail. Both of them answer to the voters of Middlesex County, and that includes Framingham. They appear on your ballot. Now you know what to look for.
Every county in Massachusetts elects its own, and the job is the same everywhere: the charging decisions, the jail. Look up any town in the state and see who holds these two offices there.
Your First Civic Action in Framingham
Say something in your neighborhood bugs you: a dark stretch of sidewalk, a field nobody mows, a crossing that scares you on the way to school. Here is how you actually do something about it in Framingham, start to finish.
- Find out who represents you. Framingham has nine council districts, and one councilor is yours. Use the city’s “Locate Your District” tool to match your address to your district councilor.
- Write to them. Send a short, specific email to your councilor, or reach the whole Council at once at citycouncil@framinghamma.gov. Name the problem, name your street, and say what you want done.
- Show up. The City Council meets at the Memorial Building, 150 Concord Street, in the Blumer Room, on the first, third, and fifth Tuesday of the month at 7 p.m., and there is time set aside for residents to speak.
- Use the second lever. If your issue is about the schools, the School Committee is a separate elected board with its own meetings and its own public comment period. Bring it there instead.
None of this requires a vote, a title, or permission. It requires knowing where the room is, which you now do.
Get Involved
Local government works best when people show up. You can sit in on a Council or School Committee meeting, take a seat on a board or commission, or just email the official who represents your street. You do not have to be old enough to vote to do any of it.
Sources
This guide draws on public sources, refreshed July 2026: U.S. Census Bureau, Massachusetts DESE School and District Profiles, Massachusetts Legislature (malegislature.gov), and the official Framingham government website.