Town Edition
Essex County
Merrimac, Massachusetts
Photo: John Phelan, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
In the 1800s the carriage shops of Merrimac built work so fine that buyers on the far side of the world knew the name of a town this small. Merrimac still builds by vote: the Pentucket middle high school your town shares with Groveland and West Newbury drew a $52.7 million grant from the state in 2019, and the rest of that bill landed on the three towns whose voters had to agree to carry it. That is how this town has decided its business since it was set off from Amesbury in 1876, in an open Town Meeting where the budget belongs to whoever walks in. This guide shows you how to get into the room.
Merrimac at a Glance
Sources: Massachusetts DESE, school and district profiles · US Census Bureau (data.census.gov).
- County: Essex. Merrimac sits on the north bank of the Merrimack River in the lower Merrimack Valley, about 8.5 square miles of land, sharing Lake Attitash with neighboring Amesbury.
- Government: open Town Meeting, with an elected five-member Select Board and an appointed Town Administrator, Carol McLeod, who also serves as Treasurer and Finance Director.
- Schools: the Pentucket Regional School District, shared with Groveland and West Newbury, about 2,285 students, led by Superintendent Justin Bartholomew.
How Merrimac’s Government Works
Merrimac runs on an open Town Meeting, which means there are no elected Town Meeting members at all: every registered voter in Merrimac is a member, and any of them can walk in, speak, and vote on the budget. Voters also elect a 5 member Select Board to set policy between meetings and their three seats on the regional School Committee. 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 Merrimac 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
5 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, who in Merrimac also serves as Treasurer and Finance Director. Runs the departments, builds the budget, and answers to the Select Board. Hired under contract, not elected.
School Committee
9 members, three from each of the three district towns, elected by the voters of Merrimac, Groveland and West Newbury. It sets school policy, approves the school budget, and hires the Superintendent.
- Residents elect the 5 members of the Select Board and Merrimac’s seats on 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 at 6:00 p.m. every other Tuesday in the Sargent Auditorium at 4 School Street. The agenda is posted in advance, so check the town calendar before you go.
- Town Meeting: the Annual Town Meeting is held in the spring at the Frederick N. Sweetsir School on Church Street, and the town can call a Special Town Meeting when business cannot wait.
- Town elections: the Annual Town Election is held on the first Monday in May. In 2026 it fell on May 4 at the Merrimac Public Library, with the polls open from 7:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. The next is in spring 2027.
- State and federal elections: even-numbered years. The 2026 primary and general are this fall.
Explore the Merrimac Edition
- Town Administrator’s OfficeThe town’s chief administrator
- Select BoardYour five board members
- School CommitteeSuperintendent & committee
- Town DepartmentsWho does what at Town Hall
- Boards & CommissionsWhere residents serve
- LegislatorsYour voice in Boston & D.C.
- Merrimac HistoryCarriages, the Merrimack River, and 1876
- DemographicsWho lives in Merrimac
- Non-ProfitsCommunity organizations
- Student DataPentucket Regional 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 Essex County, and that includes Merrimac. 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 Merrimac
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 at 6:00 p.m. every other Tuesday in the Sargent Auditorium at 4 School Street, and the agenda is posted in advance.
- Know your members. Five 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: 2 School Street, Merrimac, MA 01860. Select Board office 978-346-8013.
- Town Clerk & agendas: 978-346-8013, with meeting agendas and minutes posted at townofmerrimac.com.
- Public schools: the Pentucket Regional School District, shared with Groveland and West Newbury, at prsd.org.
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.