Town Leadership
The Gosnold Selectboard’s Office
Three Executives, All of Them Elected
The Selectboard as Executive
When a water main breaks on Cuttyhunk, the response does not cross an administrator’s desk, because the town does not employ one. The three elected members of the Selectboard, Win Sanford, Sarah Berry, and G. Stewart Young, run the town themselves. The Town Bylaws and the General Laws of Massachusetts grant the board broad powers to govern the town: it acts as the 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 serves as the licensing authority for the island’s harbor, its shellfish beds, and its lodging. Most Massachusetts towns hire a professional Town Administrator to carry the daily machinery; Gosnold keeps that machinery in the hands of the people it elects. That changes what an election here means: when you vote for a Selectboard member, you are not choosing someone to supervise a manager, you are choosing a working executive. The people who answer for the ferry landing, the water system, and the town budget sit at a public table on Cuttyhunk, and the seat across from them is open to any resident who walks in.
| Role | Selectboard, the town’s executive and licensing authority |
|---|---|
| Selection | Three members elected town-wide |
| Office | 28 Tower Hill Road, Cuttyhunk Island, MA 02713 |
| Phone | 508-990-7408 |
| Website | gosnold-ma.gov |
What the Selectboard’s Office Does
- Sets policy. The board acts as the town’s primary policy-making body on the whole range of issues that affect Gosnold’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 licensing authority for the town’s harbor and moorings, its shellfish beds, lodging, and common victuallers.
- Answers to Town Meeting. Major spending and bylaws still need the vote of Town Meeting, and in Gosnold that means every registered voter who walks in.
The Administration
- The office staff: Administrative Assistant Lisa Wright runs the Selectboard’s office day to day and answers the town’s main line at 508-990-7408.
- Elected offices carry much of the work. Gosnold voters fill a ballot of working town offices each spring, so the executive branch here is a web of elected seats rather than one org chart under an appointed manager.
- Boards and commissions, from the Planning Board and Conservation Commission to the Harbor Management and Board of Health, are how residents take a direct hand in decisions about zoning, the shoreline, and public health.
Contact & Engage
- Town offices: 28 Tower Hill Road, Cuttyhunk Island, MA 02713.
- Selectboard’s office: 508-990-7408, with Administrative Assistant Lisa Wright.
- Report a problem: roads, water, and public works questions go to the town office, which routes them to the right department.
- Show up: the board meets on a regular schedule, the agenda is posted in advance, and the public is welcome.
Want to weigh in on a town decision? Learn how to contact your officials so they actually hear you.