Town Leadership
The Town Administrator’s Office
The Interim Town Administrator
Peter Morin
When a storm closes a beach road or a school budget has to be rebuilt in a hurry, the person with the most operational control over the response is appointed, not elected. Peter Morin holds that job, and he holds it on an interim basis: the Select Board is running a search for a permanent Town Administrator, and until it finishes, Morin is the one signing off on the daily work of the town.
The charter calls this office the chief administrative officer, and Article 4 sets out what it does. The Town Administrator reports to the Select Board every business day, prepares the agenda for the board’s meetings, coordinates the work of the departments under the board’s jurisdiction, administers the personnel bylaw, keeps the inventory of everything the town owns, and runs central purchasing. He sits on every town board and committee as an ex-officio member, which means he is in the room for the discussion but does not get a vote. The charter also requires him to attend all town meetings.
The budget is the clearest place to watch the office work. Marshfield’s annual budget runs over $100 million, and the town builds it through a financial team of the Town Administrator, the Town Accountant and the Treasurer or Collector, working with department heads, the Select Board, the Advisory Board and the Capital Budget Committee. The Administrator shapes that plan and presents it. He does not adopt it. Town Meeting does.
One thing worth being precise about, because it works differently here than in many Massachusetts towns: in Marshfield the Select Board appoints the department heads, not the Town Administrator. Article 3-2 of the charter gives the board the power to appoint department heads, other board and commission members, and town officials generally, unless the charter or a bylaw says otherwise. The Administrator coordinates and supervises the daily work; the hiring authority for the people who lead the departments sits with the three people you elect. Every town charter in Massachusetts is its own special act, and this is Marshfield’s answer.
The board appoints the Town Administrator by a majority vote of its full membership, for an initial term of three years and for renewals of up to three years after that. The charter also says a vacancy in the office shall be filled as soon as reasonably possible, and that a temporary appointment may be made for no longer than four months when no fully qualified individual is available. So the interim in his title is a real thing the charter contemplates, and the search to replace it is public business you can follow.
| Role | Interim Town Administrator (the charter calls the office the chief administrative officer) |
|---|---|
| Selection | Appointed by the Select Board, not elected. A permanent appointment runs an initial term of three years (Charter Article 4-1-1) |
| Office | Town Hall, 870 Moraine Street, Marshfield, MA 02050 |
| Phone | (781) 834-5563 |
| Website | marshfield-ma.gov |
What the Interim Town Administrator Does
- Coordinates the departments. The Town Accountant, Animal Control, Board of Appeals, Building, Conservation, Council on Aging, Fire, Library, Police, Recreation, Treasurer or Collector and the Veterans Agent all report to the Select Board through the Town Administrator.
- Builds the budget. Each year the Administrator proposes how the town will spend its money, then presents that plan to the Select Board and to Town Meeting, which holds the final vote.
- Sits on every board without a vote. The charter makes the Administrator an ex-officio, non-voting member of all elected and appointed boards, commissions and committees, so the office hears everything and decides none of it alone.
- Reports to Town Meeting. Major spending and bylaws still need the vote of Town Meeting, and in Marshfield that means every registered voter who walks in. The charter requires the Administrator to attend.
The Administration
- Department heads are appointed by the Select Board under Charter Article 3-2, and they carry out policy, from plowing snow to inspecting restaurants. The Town Administrator coordinates their daily work.
- The Select Board is the check: it appoints 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. Marshfield also elects several outright, including the Board of Health, the Planning Board and the Board of Public Works.
Contact & Engage
- Town Hall: 870 Moraine Street, Marshfield, MA 02050.
- Town Administrator’s Office: (781) 834-5563, or email the board at selectboard@townofmarshfield.org.
- Report a problem: potholes, broken lights, and missed pickups go to the Department of Public Works, 965 Plain Street, (781) 834-5575.
- Show up: the Select Board meets at least twice a month on Mondays at 5:30 p.m. at Town Hall, and the public is welcome.
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