Town Leadership
The Holbrook Town Administrator’s Office
The Town Administrator
Anne Mahoney
When a road goes unplowed, a permit stalls, or a department needs a decision before the next Town Meeting, the person with the most day-to-day control over the answer is appointed, not elected. Anne Mahoney is Holbrook’s Town Administrator, hired by the five elected members of the Select Board, and she serves at their pleasure: the same board that hired her can let her go if it loses confidence in her work. The town’s own bylaw makes the shape of the job clear. The Town Administrator is the chief administrative officer, responsible to the Select Board for the efficient administration, supervision, and coordination of every department, commission, board, and office under the board’s jurisdiction. In practice that means Mahoney appoints and oversees most department heads, coordinates the departments the board controls with the offices that answer to separately elected officials, and acts for the board on the matters it assigns her. She does not override the powers the state gives directly to a particular department or board, because the law reserves some decisions to the people who hold those specific offices. Two of her jobs matter most to a resident. The first is the budget. Each year the Administrator assembles a spending plan department by department and brings it forward, then defends it before the Select Board and, finally, before Town Meeting, which holds the last word and can cut a line the board and the Administrator both wanted. The second is the daily machinery: the plan to fix almost any ordinary problem, from a failing culvert to a new hire, tends to cross her desk before it becomes policy. That is the split worth remembering. The Select Board sets direction and decides what reaches Town Meeting, Town Meeting votes the money, and the Town Administrator carries it out and runs the town in between. So when you want something changed, the fastest first move is usually to reach the office that manages it day to day. Anne Mahoney’s office is at Town Hall, and her assistant is Jordan T. Remy.
| Role | Town Administrator (chief administrative officer) |
|---|---|
| Selection | Appointed by the Select Board under contract, not elected |
| Office | Town Hall, 50 North Franklin Street, Holbrook, MA 02343 |
| Phone | 781-767-1800 |
| Website | holbrookma.gov |
What the Town Administrator Does
- Runs the departments. Police, fire, public works, health, recreation, and the rest answer to the Town Administrator, who appoints most of their leaders.
- Builds the budget. Each year the Administrator proposes how the town will spend its money for the town and the schools, then defends that plan before the Select Board and Town Meeting, which holds the final vote.
- Answers to the board. The Administrator 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 members elected from your precinct.
The Administration
- Department heads are appointed by the Town Administrator and carry out policy, from plowing snow to inspecting restaurants.
- The Select Board is the check: it hires and can fire the Administrator, sets policy, and signs the warrants that put questions before Town Meeting.
- Boards and commissions, many of them appointed by the Select Board, decide questions like zoning, conservation, and licensing.
Contact & Engage
- Town Hall: 50 North Franklin Street, Holbrook, MA 02343.
- Town Administrator’s Office: 781-767-1800.
- Report a problem: potholes, broken lights, and missed pickups go to the Department of Public Works.
- Show up: the Select Board meets on its published calendar at 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.