Town Edition
Worcester County
Millville, Massachusetts
Photo: Pvmoutside, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
In 1916 the village of Millville asked the Massachusetts Legislature for permission to quit the town of Blackstone and run its own affairs, and it won. That is why Millville is the second youngest town in the state, and that power to govern itself never expired. Millville still writes its own bylaws and votes its own budget at open Town Meeting, where any registered voter can walk in, stand up, speak, and decide. There are no elected Town Meeting members to send in your place. If you are registered, you are the legislature. This guide shows you how to take your seat.
Millville at a Glance
Sources: Massachusetts DESE, school and district profiles · US Census Bureau (data.census.gov).
- County: Worcester. Millville is a small town on the Rhode Island line in the Blackstone River valley, and it split from the neighboring town of Blackstone to govern itself in 1916.
- Government: open Town Meeting, with an elected five-member Board of Selectmen and an appointed Town Administrator, Peter D. Caruso.
- Schools: the Blackstone-Millville Regional School District, shared with Blackstone, about 1,418 students, led by Interim Superintendent Maureen Binienda.
How Millville’s Government Works
Millville runs on an open Town Meeting, which means there are no elected Town Meeting members at all: every registered voter in Millville is a member, and any of them can walk in, speak, and vote on the budget. Voters also elect a five-member Board of Selectmen to set policy between meetings, and they elect Millville’s seats on the regional School Committee that oversees the schools. The Board of Selectmen 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 Board of Selectmen, 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 Millville 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
Five 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 Board of Selectmen. Hired under contract, not elected.
School Committee
Eight members, shared with Blackstone in one regional district. It sets school policy, approves the school budget, and hires the Superintendent. Millville voters elect four of the eight seats.
- Residents elect the five members of the Board of Selectmen and Millville’s seats on the regional School Committee.
- The Board of Selectmen 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
- Board of Selectmen: meets on the first and third Monday at 7:00 pm at Millville Town Hall, 8 Central Street, or as posted. The agenda goes up in advance, so check the town calendar before you go.
- Town Meeting: the Annual Town Meeting is held the second Monday in May in the Millville Elementary School Auditorium, and the town can call a Special Town Meeting when business cannot wait.
- Town elections: Millville holds its annual town election in the spring, when the seats on the Board of Selectmen and the other elected offices are decided.
- State and federal elections: even-numbered years. The 2026 primary and general are this fall.
Explore the Millville Edition
- Town Administrator’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.
- Millville HistoryMills, the canal, and a town born in 1916
- DemographicsWho lives in Millville
- Non-ProfitsCommunity organizations
- Student DataBlackstone-Millville 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 Millville. 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 Millville
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 Board of Selectmen. Schools go to the School Committee. The budget and bylaws are voted by Town Meeting.
- Find the meeting. The Board of Selectmen meets on the first and third Monday at 7:00 pm at Millville Town Hall, 8 Central Street, and the agenda is posted in advance.
- Know your members. All five Board of Selectmen 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 road problem to the Highway Department, which owns the repair.
- Town Hall: 8 Central Street, Millville, MA 01529. Board of Selectmen office (508) 883-1186.
- Town Clerk & agendas: (508) 883-5849, with meeting agendas and minutes posted at millvillema.org.
- Public schools: the Blackstone-Millville Regional School District, bmrsd.net.
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.