Town Leadership
The Board of Selectmen’s Office
Three Executives, All of Them Elected
The Board of Selectmen as Executive
When a road goes unplowed in Hancock, the response does not cross an administrator’s desk, because the town does not employ one. The three elected members of the Board of Selectmen, Sherman L. Derby, Sr., Don Rancatti, and James Rodda, 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 departments, and serves as the licensing authority for the common victuallers, one-day, and lodging permits a small resort town needs. Most Massachusetts towns of this shape hire a professional Town Administrator to carry the daily machinery; Hancock keeps that machinery in the hands of the people it elects. That changes what an election here means: when you vote for a Board of Selectmen member, you are not choosing someone to supervise a manager, you are choosing a working executive. The chair who signs the warrant and answers for the plowing schedule also serves as the town’s Highway Supervisor, and the board sits at a public table at Hancock Town Hall twice a month, with the seat across from them open to any resident who walks in.
| Role | Board of Selectmen, the town’s executive and licensing authority |
|---|---|
| Selection | Three members elected town-wide to staggered three-year terms |
| Office | Hancock Town Hall, 3650 Hancock Road, PO Box 1084, Hancock, MA 01237 |
| Phone | 413-738-5225 |
| bos@town.hancock.ma.us |
What the Selectmen’s Office Does
- Sets policy. The board acts as the town’s primary policy-making body on the whole range of issues that affect Hancock’s roads, services, and development.
- 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 common victuallers, one-day and alcohol permits, and lodging, which matter in a town whose economy leans on Jiminy Peak and its campgrounds.
- Answers to Town Meeting. Major spending and bylaws still need the vote of Town Meeting, and in Hancock that means every registered voter who walks in.
The Administration
- The office staff: the Town Hall office carries the board’s daily paperwork and is open to the public on weekdays from 9:00 a.m. to noon; the town has no appointed administrator, so the three elected members are the executive.
- Elected offices carry much of the work. Hancock voters fill a long ballot of working offices: the Moderator, Assessors, Board of Health, Planning Board, Finance Committee, Cemetery Commission, Library Trustees, Constable, Tax Collector, Town Clerk, and Treasurer, so the executive branch here is a web of ballots, not one org chart.
- Boards and commissions, permanent and appointed, are named by the Board of Selectmen and decide questions like conservation, historic preservation, and land use.
Contact & Engage
- Town offices: Hancock Town Hall, 3650 Hancock Road, open weekdays from 9:00 a.m. to noon.
- Board of Selectmen’s office: 413-738-5225, bos@town.hancock.ma.us.
- Report a problem: potholes, broken signs, and plowing go to the Highway Department; the town lists 413-464-5916 for a highway emergency.
- Show up: the board meets twice a month on Wednesday afternoons at Hancock Town Hall, and the public is welcome.
Want to weigh in on a town decision? Learn how to contact your officials so they actually hear you.