Town Edition
Worcester County
Millbury, Massachusetts
Photo: Pvmoutside, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
On April 28, 2026, 501 Millbury voters decided thirteen town offices. Ten of them had a name printed on the ballot: a selectman for three years and another for one, a School Committee member, an assessor, two planning board members, a health board member, a library trustee, and two members of the Redevelopment Authority. The other three carried no printed candidate at all, so those seats were left to whatever residents chose to write in the blank. One voter in twenty settled all of that for a town of 13,831, and that is before you get to Town Meeting, where the budget is voted by whoever walks in the door. This guide shows you where those rooms are and how to get into them.
Millbury at a Glance
Sources: Massachusetts DESE, district profile · US Census Bureau (data.census.gov).
- County: Worcester. Millbury covers 15.7 square miles at the top of the Blackstone River Valley, bordered by Worcester on the north, Grafton on the east, Sutton on the south, and Oxford and Auburn on the west.
- Government: open Town Meeting, an elected five member Board of Selectmen, and a Town Manager the board appoints. Nicole Valentine is serving as Acting Town Manager.
- Schools: Millbury Public Schools, about 1,616 students across three schools, led by Superintendent Gregory Myers.
How Millbury’s Government Works
Millbury runs on an open Town Meeting, which means there are no elected Town Meeting members at all: every registered voter in Millbury is a member, and any of them can walk in, speak, and vote on the budget. Voters also elect a 5 member Board of Selectmen to set policy between meetings and the School Committee that oversees the schools. The Board of Selectmen hires a professional Acting Town Manager to run the town day to day. So the money is voted by whoever shows up, the direction is set by the Board of Selectmen, and the daily work is carried out by the Acting Town Manager.
Town Meeting
The legislative body, and it is not a committee. Every registered voter in Millbury is a member. Town Meeting adopts the annual budget, passes town bylaws, and approves major spending. This is direct democracy in its literal sense.
Board of Selectmen
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 Acting Town Manager.
Acting Town Manager
The appointed chief administrator. Runs the departments, builds the budget, and answers to the Board of Selectmen. Hired under contract, not elected.
School Committee
5 members, elected by the voters of the district the schools serve. It sets school policy, approves the school budget, and hires the Superintendent.
- Residents elect the 5 members of the Board of Selectmen and the School Committee.
- The Board of Selectmen hires the Acting Town Manager 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
- Board of Selectmen: meets at 6 pm at the Millbury Municipal Building, 127 Elm Street, roughly twice a month. Every agenda is posted in advance on the town’s Agenda Center, and every meeting is carried live on Charter channel 191 and Verizon channel 26.
- Town Meeting: the Annual Town Meeting is held on the first Tuesday in May, and the town can call a Special Town Meeting when business cannot wait. The Moderator, Jim McKenna, presides. The 2026 Annual Town Meeting was held on Tuesday, May 5.
- Town elections: the annual town election is held on the last Tuesday in April. All four precincts vote at Millbury High School, 12 Martin Street, in the gymnasium. The 2026 election was held on Tuesday, April 28.
- State and federal elections: even-numbered years. The 2026 state primary and general are this fall, and the town is running in-person early voting for the September primary.
Explore the Millbury Edition
- Town Manager’s OfficeThe town’s chief administrator
- Board of SelectmenYour five board members
- School CommitteeSuperintendent & committee
- Town DepartmentsWho does what at Town Hall
- Boards & CommissionsWhere residents serve
- LegislatorsYour voice in Boston & D.C.
- Millbury History1813, the mills, and the armory
- DemographicsWho lives in Millbury
- Non-ProfitsCommunity organizations
- Student DataMillbury 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 Worcester County, and that includes Millbury. 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 Millbury
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, licenses, roads, and police or fire go to the Board of Selectmen. Schools go to the School Committee. The budget and the bylaws are voted by Town Meeting.
- Find the meeting. The Board of Selectmen meets at 6 pm at the Millbury Municipal Building, 127 Elm Street, and the agenda is posted in advance on the town’s Agenda Center.
- Know your members. All five members of the Board of Selectmen are elected town-wide, so every one of them answers to you.
- Speak. Meetings are open and every one of them ends with a roundtable for citizens’ feedback. Check the agenda for how to sign up.
- Or skip the trip. Report a pothole, a broken light, or a water problem to the Department of Public Works, which is the department that owns the repair.
- Town Hall: 127 Elm Street, Millbury, MA 01527. Main line 508-865-4710, open Monday, Wednesday and Thursday 8 am to 4 pm, Tuesday 8 am to 7 pm, and Friday 8 am to noon.
- Town Clerk & agendas: 508-865-9110, with meeting agendas and minutes posted at millburyma.gov.
- Public schools: Millbury Public Schools, 12 Martin Street, 508-865-9501, millburyschools.org.
Local government works best when residents show up. Find your Board of Selectmen, speak at a meeting on the town’s published calendar, or simply register to vote and take your seat at Town Meeting.