Town Leadership
The Town Administrator’s Office
The Town Administrator
Robert Dolan
When a road goes unplowed or a school roof needs replacing, the person with the most operational control over the response is appointed, not elected. Robert Dolan is the 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: he supervises the town departments, shapes and presents the annual budget, and carries the town’s biggest spending requests to Town Meeting for the final vote. You can watch that job happen. In the Select Board’s own minutes of April 28, 2026 it is the Town Administrator who explains to the board that the Finance Committee has voted against funding a capital line, after which the board amends its own recommendation before the article reaches the floor. Because Lynnfield hands the daily machinery to an appointed administrator, the plan to fix a problem usually crosses his desk first, then goes to the board, and then to the residents in the hall.
| Role | Town Administrator (chief administrative officer) |
|---|---|
| Selection | Appointed by the Select Board under contract, not elected |
| Office | 590A Summer Street, Lynnfield, MA 01940 |
| Phone | 781-334-9410 |
| Website | lynnfieldma.gov |
What the Town Administrator Does
- Runs the departments. Police, fire, public works, health, recreation, and the rest report up through the Town Administrator’s office.
- Builds the budget. Each year the office proposes how the town will spend its money, then defends that plan before the Select Board, the Finance Committee and Town Meeting, which holds the final vote.
- Answers to the board. The Town 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 Lynnfield that means every registered voter who walks in.
The Administration
- Department heads carry out policy, from plowing snow to inspecting restaurants. The Assistant Town Administrator, David Castellarin, doubles as the town’s Finance Director and presents the year-end transfers that close the books.
- The Select Board is the check: it hires and can fire the Town 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: 55 Summer Street, Lynnfield, MA 01940, 781-334-9400.
- Town Administrator’s Office: 590A Summer Street, 781-334-9410.
- Report a problem: potholes, broken lights, and missed pickups go to the Department of Public Works at 781-334-9500.
- Show up: the Select Board meets on its published calendar, and the public is welcome.
Want to weigh in on a town decision? Learn how to contact your officials so they actually hear you.