Town Edition
Berkshire County
Lee, Massachusetts
Photo: John Phelan, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
The white marble in the House and Senate wings of the United States Capitol was quarried out of the ground right here in Lee. This town still settles its biggest questions the same blunt way. When the police, fire and EMS crews outgrew their worn out quarters, Lee’s voters backed a roughly $37 million public safety complex by more than 70 percent, twice, once on the floor of Town Meeting and once at the ballot box, and the building is going up on Railroad Street now. That is how power works here. The budget is voted by whoever fills the room, and any registered voter in Lee can be one of them. This guide shows you how to take your seat.
Lee at a Glance
Sources: Massachusetts DESE, district profile · US Census Bureau (data.census.gov).
- County: Berkshire. Lee sits in the southern Berkshires along the Housatonic River, and includes the village of South Lee.
- Government: open Town Meeting, with an elected three-member Select Board and an appointed Town Administrator, R. Christopher Brittain.
- Schools: the Lee Public Schools, about 648 students, led by Superintendent Michael Richard.
How Lee’s Government Works
Lee runs on an open Town Meeting, which means there are no elected Town Meeting members at all: every registered voter in Lee is a member, and any of them can walk in, speak, and vote on the budget. Voters also elect a three-member Select Board to set policy between meetings and a seven-member School Committee that oversees the schools. The Select Board hires a professional Town Administrator to run the town day to day. So the money is voted by whoever shows up, the direction is set by the Select Board, and the daily work is carried out by the Town Administrator.
Town Meeting
The legislative body, and it is not a committee. Every registered voter in Lee is a member. Town Meeting adopts the annual budget, passes town bylaws, and approves major spending. This is direct democracy in its literal sense.
Select Board
Three members elected town-wide. They set policy, sign the warrants that decide what reaches Town Meeting, appoint residents to many town boards, and hire and supervise the Town Administrator.
Town Administrator
The appointed chief administrator. Runs the departments, builds the budget, and answers to the Select Board. Hired under contract, not elected.
School Committee
Seven members elected town-wide. It sets school policy, approves the school budget, and hires the Superintendent.
- Residents elect the three members of the Select Board and the seven members of the School Committee.
- The Select Board hires the Town Administrator and decides what goes on the Town Meeting warrant.
- Town Meeting votes the budget and the bylaws, and every registered voter present can vote.
- You take part: register at 16, vote at 18, and once you are registered you are already a member of Town Meeting.
Civic Calendar
- Select Board: meets the first and third Tuesday of the month at 7 pm in the Town Hall courtroom, 32 Main Street. Each agenda is posted in advance, so check the town calendar before you go.
- Town Meeting: the Annual Town Meeting is held in May at the Lee Middle and High School, and the town can call a Special Town Meeting when business cannot wait. The 2026 Annual Town Meeting was held on May 14.
- Town elections: Lee votes in May. The 2026 Annual Town Election was held on May 18, with the polls open from 7 am to 8 pm at the 21 Crossway Street gymnasium. The next is in spring 2027.
- State and federal elections: even-numbered years. The 2026 primary and general are this fall.
Explore the Lee Edition
- Town Administrator’s OfficeThe town’s chief administrator
- Select BoardYour three board members
- School CommitteeSuperintendent & committee
- Town DepartmentsWho does what at Town Hall
- Boards & CommissionsWhere residents serve
- LegislatorsYour voice in Boston & D.C.
- Lee HistoryMarble, paper, and 1777
- DemographicsWho lives in Lee
- Non-ProfitsCommunity organizations
- Student DataLee schools by the numbers
Your County Officials
Two of the people with the most direct power over your life are elected countywide. The district attorney decides who gets charged with a crime, and what they get charged with. The sheriff runs the county jail. Both of them answer to the voters of Berkshire County, and that includes Lee. They appear on your ballot. Now you know what to look for.
Every county in Massachusetts elects its own, and the job is the same everywhere: the charging decisions, the jail. Look up any town in the state and see who holds these two offices there.
Your First Civic Action in Lee
You do not have to wait until you can vote to be heard in your own town. Here is how to take a real concern to the people who decide.
- Pick the right body. Town policy, roads, and police or fire go to the Select Board. Schools go to the School Committee. The budget and bylaws are voted by Town Meeting.
- Find the meeting. The Select Board meets the first and third Tuesday of the month at 7 pm in the Town Hall courtroom, and the agenda is posted in advance.
- Know your members. All three Select Board members are elected town-wide, so every one of them answers to you.
- Speak. Meetings are open to the public and residents may address the board. Check the agenda for how to sign up.
- Or skip the trip. Report a pothole, a broken light, or a missed pickup to the Department of Public Works, which is the department that owns the repair.
- Town Hall: 32 Main Street, Lee, MA 01238. Select Board office 413-243-5500.
- Town Clerk & agendas: Town Clerk Rachael Armstrong, 413-243-5505, with meeting agendas and minutes posted at leema.gov.
- Public schools: the Lee Public Schools, 413-243-0276, leepublicschools.net.
Local government works best when residents show up. Find your Select Board, speak at a meeting on the town’s published calendar, or simply register to vote and take your seat at Town Meeting.