Town Leadership
The Lancaster Town Administrator’s Office
The Town Administrator
John R. Woodsmall III
When a road goes unplowed or a permit stalls, the person with the most operational control over the response is appointed, not elected. John R. Woodsmall III is Lancaster’s Town Administrator, hired by the three elected members of the Select Board to run the town day to day, and they can let him go if they lose faith in him. He is the chief administrative officer of a town of about 8,400 people: he appoints and supervises most department heads, from public works to the library, and holds them to the policies the board sets. Each year he builds the town budget, deciding what to propose for roads, public safety, and the town’s assessment to the Nashoba Regional School District, then defends that plan in public before the Select Board and, finally, before Town Meeting, which holds the last vote. He manages the town’s contracts, its grant applications, and its labor agreements, and he is the point of contact when a state agency or a neighboring town needs an answer from Lancaster. What he cannot do is pass a law or set a tax rate on his own. The Select Board hires and directs him, Town Meeting appropriates the money, and the elected boards keep their own authority. Because Lancaster hands the daily machinery to an appointed professional rather than to an elected mayor, the plan to fix almost any problem crosses his desk first, then goes to the board and to Town Meeting for the decision. Knowing that path is the difference between a complaint that circles and a request that lands on the right desk.
| Role | Town Administrator (chief administrative officer) |
|---|---|
| Selection | Appointed by the Select Board under contract, not elected |
| Office | Prescott Building, 701 Main Street, Lancaster, MA 01523 |
| Phone | 978-365-3326 ext. 1016 |
| Website | ci.lancaster.ma.us |
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 and what it will send to the regional 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 Town Meeting, and in Lancaster that means every registered voter who walks in.
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 Offices: Prescott Building, 701 Main Street, Lancaster, MA 01523.
- Town Administrator’s Office: 978-365-3326 ext. 1016.
- 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.