Town Government
Ipswich Select Board
About the Board
Five members, all elected town-wide, each to a three year term on a staggered schedule that puts a seat or two on the ballot every spring. The charter makes this the board that appoints and can remove the Town Manager, and it is the board that takes the lead on the town’s long range plans, its capital spending and its environmental policy, working with the Finance Committee, the School Committee, the Planning Board and the manager. It appoints the Zoning Board of Appeals, the Town Accountant, the Trust Fund Commissioners, the registrars of voters, the election officers, the Treasurer and Collector and the Electric Light Manager. When a daily problem becomes town policy, this is the room where it happens.
It also has a second job most towns do not have. Ipswich owns its electric utility, and the same five people sit as the Electric Light Commissioners. In that chair they approve the department’s budget, its policies and any change to your electric rates.
- Sets policy and direction for the whole town.
- Hires the Town Manager for a three year term and can move to remove him.
- Controls the warrant, deciding what business reaches Town Meeting for a vote.
- Sits as the Electric Light Commissioners for the town’s own utility, with the last word on rates.
Board Members
All five are elected town-wide. After each annual town election the board reorganizes and chooses its own officers. At the meeting of May 20, 2026, the day after the annual election, Carl Nylen nominated Michael Dougherty as Chair and the board voted 5 to 0 by roll call. Sarah Player then nominated Carl Nylen as Vice Chair, and that vote was 5 to 0 as well.
Michael S. Dougherty
Carl Nylen
Charles D. Surpitski
Linda D. Alexson
Sarah Player
The town routes contact to board members through the Select Board office, which can be reached at 978-356-6604. The member roster is posted at ipswichma.gov.
Meetings & How to Participate
- When: 6:30 p.m. on the first and third Monday of the month, in Room A at Town Hall, 25 Green Street. If the Monday is a holiday the meeting moves to the following Tuesday.
- Agendas & minutes: posted on the town’s Agenda Center, and you can subscribe to an alert when a new one goes up.
- Watch: ICAM Ipswich records and streams the town’s public meetings, and the Select Board points residents to its recordings by name.
- Public comment: Citizen Queries is a standing item at the top of every Select Board agenda. That is the slot where a resident speaks.
- Town Meeting: for the budget and the bylaws, the deciding vote belongs to the registered voters in the hall, which can include you.
Public hearings and meetings are where residents shape town decisions.