Town Leadership
The Selectmen’s Office
Three Executives, All of Them Elected
The Select Board as Executive
When a road goes unplowed in Mount Washington, the response does not cross an administrator’s desk, because the town does not employ one. The three elected members of the Select Board, Lesliann Furcht, Dottie Bonbrake, and Keith Torrico, run the town themselves. The Town Bylaws and the General Laws of Massachusetts grant the board broad powers to govern the town: it acts as the primary policy-making body, makes appointments to the town’s boards and committees, recommends the budget to the Annual Town Meeting, and serves as the licensing authority for the town. In most Massachusetts towns a professional Town Administrator carries this daily machinery; Mount Washington keeps that machinery in the hands of the people it elects, and a Town Office Manager staffs the paperwork. That changes what an election here means: when you vote for a Select Board member, you are not choosing someone to supervise a manager, you are choosing a working executive. The person who answers for the plowing schedule and the town budget sits at a public table in the evening at Town Hall, and the seat across from them is open to any resident who walks in.
| Role | The Select Board, the town’s chief executive and licensing authority |
|---|---|
| Selection | Three members elected town-wide to staggered three-year terms |
| Office | Town Hall, 2 Plantain Pond Road, Mount Washington, MA 01258 |
| Phone | 413-528-2839 |
| Website | mountwashington-ma.gov |
What the Selectmen’s Office Does
- Sets policy. The board acts as the town’s primary policy-making body on the whole range of issues that affect Mount Washington’s services and land.
- Builds the warrant. The board decides what reaches Town Meeting, signing the warrant for every Annual and Special Town Meeting.
- Recommends the budget. The board recommends the annual budget to the Annual Town Meeting, alongside the Finance Committee’s review, and Town Meeting holds the final vote.
- Licenses and appoints. The board is the town’s licensing authority and makes appointments to many town boards and committees.
- Answers to Town Meeting. Major spending and bylaws still need the vote of Town Meeting, and in Mount Washington that means every registered voter who walks in.
The Staff and the Ballot
- The office staff: Town Office Manager Elisabeth Lem runs the Selectmen’s office day to day, and Town Hall is open Mondays 11 to 3 and Tuesdays 9 to 2, and other times by appointment.
- Elected offices carry much of the work. The town ballot fills a long list of working offices, among them the Moderator, Town Clerk, Treasurer, Tax Collector, Assessors, Board of Health, Planning Board, Library Trustees, and the School Committee, so the executive branch here is a web of ballots, not one org chart.
- Boards and commissions, permanent and ad hoc, are appointed by the Select Board and decide questions like zoning, conservation, and historic preservation.
Contact & Engage
- Town Hall: 2 Plantain Pond Road, with public hours Mondays 11 to 3 and Tuesdays 9 to 2.
- The Selectmen’s office: 413-528-2839, staffed by Town Office Manager Elisabeth Lem.
- Report a problem: potholes, broken signs, and plowing go to the Highway Department, 413-528-2730.
- Show up: the board meets in the evening at Town Hall, generally every other week, and the public is welcome.
Want to weigh in on a town decision? Learn how to contact your officials so they actually hear you.