Town Leadership
The Town Administrator’s Office
The Town Administrator
Mari Enoch
When a road goes unplowed or a permit stalls, the person with the most operational control over the response is appointed, not elected. Mari Enoch is New Marlborough’s Town Administrator, hired by the three elected members of the Select Board to run the town day to day and answerable to them if they lose confidence. The Town Administrator is the chief administrative officer: the office supports the hiring and supervision of department heads, shapes and presents the annual budget, and carries the town’s biggest spending requests to Town Meeting for the final vote. It is a contract position, not an elected one. Because New Marlborough hands the daily machinery to an appointed administrator, the plan to fix a problem usually crosses this desk first, then goes to the Select Board and to Town Meeting, where the registered voters in the room hold the last word. In a town this small the office is close to the ground: the same person who answers a resident’s question about a culvert is often the one drafting the warrant article that pays to replace it.
| Role | Town Administrator (chief administrative officer) |
|---|---|
| Selection | Appointed by the Select Board under contract, not elected |
| Office | Town Hall, 807 Mill River Southfield Road, Mill River, MA 01244 |
| Phone | 413-229-8116 |
| Website | newmarlboroughma.gov |
What the Town Administrator Does
- Runs the departments. Police, fire, highway, the library, and the rest answer through the Town Administrator, who supports the Select Board in appointing and overseeing their leaders.
- Builds the budget. Each year the office proposes how the town will spend its money, then defends that plan before the Select Board and Town Meeting, which holds the final vote.
- Answers to the board. The Town Administrator serves at the pleasure of the elected Select Board and carries out the policies it sets.
- Reports to Town Meeting. Major spending and bylaws still need the vote of Town Meeting, and in New Marlborough that means every registered voter who walks in.
The Administration
- Department heads carry out policy, from plowing the roads to keeping the town’s records, and they report through the Town Administrator to the Select Board.
- The Select Board is the check: it hires and can dismiss the Town Administrator, sets policy, and signs the warrants that put questions before Town Meeting.
- Boards and commissions, most of them appointed by the Select Board, decide questions like zoning, conservation, and licensing.
Contact & Engage
- Town Hall: 807 Mill River Southfield Road, Mill River, MA 01244.
- Town Administrator’s Office: 413-229-8116.
- Report a problem: roads, plowing, and fallen limbs go to the Highway Department at 413-229-8165.
- Show up: the Select Board meets twice a month on Monday evenings at Town Hall, and the public is welcome.
Want to weigh in on a town decision? Learn how to contact your officials so they actually hear you.