Town Government
Needham Select Board
About the Board
The Select Board is elected town-wide, so every Needham voter helps choose all five, and each serves a three-year term on a staggered schedule that puts a couple of seats on the ballot every April. The board sets town policy, signs the warrant that decides what Town Meeting gets to vote on, appoints residents to many town boards, and hires and supervises the Town Manager who runs the town day to day. When a daily problem becomes town policy, this is the room where it happens.
- Sets policy and direction for the whole town.
- Hires the Town Manager and holds the manager accountable.
- Controls the warrant, deciding what business reaches Town Meeting for a vote.
Board Members
All five members are elected town-wide. The board chooses one of its own as Chair to run its meetings and another as Vice Chair. The roster below reflects the April 2026 town election, which sent Bill Dermody to an open seat and returned Catherine Reid Dowd.
Heidi R. Frail
Joshua W. Levy
Kevin T. Keane
Catherine Reid Dowd
Bill Dermody
The town routes contact to board members through the Select Board office, which can be reached at 781-455-7500, ext. 71204, or selectboard@needhamma.gov. Member directories are posted at needhamma.gov.
Meetings & How to Participate
- When: scheduled weeknights, usually at 6 p.m., in the Select Board Chambers on the first floor of Town Hall, 1471 Highland Avenue. Most meetings are hybrid.
- Agendas & minutes: posted in advance on the town website at needhamma.gov.
- Public comment: residents may address the board. Check the agenda for the procedure.
- Town Meeting: for the budget and bylaws, the deciding vote belongs to the 240 representative Town Meeting members elected from your precinct.
Sources
Needham Select Board (needhamma.gov). Verified July 2026.
Needham government website (needhamma.gov). Verified July 2026.
What this seat decides
Your Select Board
Streets and sidewalks, licenses, a crosswalk or a speed limit, and how something gets onto the Town Meeting warrant. Ask the engineering department who owns the road before you write: a numbered state route is MassDOT's rather than your town's, and your State Representative is who can ask them. It runs the town day to day, or hires the Town Manager or Town Administrator who does, and new bylaws are voted by Town Meeting rather than by the board.
Public hearings and meetings are where residents shape town decisions.