Town Edition
Bristol County
North Attleborough, Massachusetts
A boy born on Elm Street in 1884 grew up to run the entire U.S. House of Representatives. Joseph W. Martin Jr. represented North Attleborough in Congress for more than forty years and twice served as Speaker of the House, which is about as far as a kid from a New England jewelry town has ever gone in American politics. Your town was built on that jewelry: gold buttons for the Continental Army, then factories that helped make the Attleboros a capital of American jewelry making. In 2019 North Attleborough tore up its old town-meeting government and rebuilt it from scratch, and this guide shows you how the new machine works: the Town Manager who runs it, the Town Council you elect, the legislators who carry your voice to Boston and Washington, and the data behind it all.
The North Attleborough Civics Handbook
A plain-language guide to how your town works: who represents you, how decisions get made, and how to make your voice heard. Read it online.
North Attleborough at a Glance
Sources: Massachusetts DESE, district profile · US Census Bureau (data.census.gov).
- County: Bristol. North Attleborough sits on the Rhode Island line in the southeastern corner of Massachusetts, spread across about 19 square miles between Attleboro and the state border.
- Government: council-manager town. An appointed Town Manager, Michael D. Borg, runs the town day to day, hired by the elected Town Council. There is no mayor.
- Schools: North Attleborough Public Schools, about 3,769 students across eight schools, led by Superintendent John Antonucci.
How North Attleborough’s Government Works
For most of its history North Attleborough ran the old New England way, by representative town meeting and a Board of Selectmen, but in 2019 voters approved a new charter and threw that system out. Today residents elect a nine-member Town Council and a School Committee, and the Council hires a professional Town Manager to run the town. So the levers are split on purpose: residents elect the Council, the Council sets policy and hires the Manager, and the Manager carries it out and runs the departments.
Town Manager
The appointed chief executive. Runs every department, appoints most department heads, builds the budget, and answers to the Town Council. Hired under contract, not elected.
Town Council
The nine-member legislative body, all elected at-large by the whole town. It picks a President and Vice President from its own ranks, sets policy, passes bylaws, and adopts the budget.
School Committee
Seven members, elected by the voters of the district the schools serve. It sets school policy, approves the school budget, and hires the Superintendent who runs the schools day to day.
- Residents elect the nine councilors and the School Committee.
- The Council hires the Town Manager and sets town policy.
- The Town Manager runs the town day to day and proposes the budget.
- You take part: public comment, board service, and a call to your at-large councilors all shape what happens next.
Explore the North Attleborough Edition
- Town Manager’s OfficeThe town’s chief executive
- Town CouncilYour nine councilors
- School CommitteeSuperintendent & committee
- Town DepartmentsWho does what at Town Hall
- Boards & CommissionsWhere residents serve
- LegislatorsYour voice in Boston & D.C.
- North Attleborough HistoryFrom jewelry forges to a Speaker of the House
- DemographicsWho lives in North Attleborough
- Non-ProfitsCommunity organizations
- Student DataNorth Attleborough Public Schools by the numbers
Civic Calendar
- Town Council: meets in the evening, generally twice a month, at 7 PM in the JoAnn Cathcart Conference Room at Town Hall, 43 South Washington Street.
- School Committee: meets at the school administration office, and agendas are posted on the district website.
- Town elections: held every spring. The Council and School Committee were last chosen at the April 2025 town election. Councilors serve two-year terms.
- State and federal elections: even-numbered years. The 2026 primary and general are this fall.
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 Bristol County, and that includes North Attleborough. 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 North Attleborough
You do not have to be old enough to vote to change something in your town. Here is how to actually do it.
- Pick the right body. Streets, parks, the budget, and most local policy run through the Town Council. Anything about the schools goes to the School Committee.
- Find the meeting. The Town Council meets in the evening, generally twice a month, at 7 PM in the JoAnn Cathcart Conference Room at Town Hall, 43 South Washington Street.
- Know your councilors. All nine are elected at-large, so every one of them answers to the whole town, and every one is your councilor. Find them on the Town Council page.
- Speak. Public comment is built into the agenda, and you do not have to be a registered voter to take the microphone.
- Or skip the trip. Report a pothole, a missed pickup, or a broken streetlight any time through North Attleborough’s online SeeClickFix service request tool.
- Town Hall: 43 South Washington Street, North Attleborough, MA 02760. Main line 508-699-0100.
- Council & agendas: Town Council office 508-699-0100 ext. 2555. Agendas are posted in advance on the town’s online Agenda Center.
- Public schools: North Attleborough Public Schools, 508-643-2100, naschools.net.
Local government works best when residents show up. Meet your at-large councilors, speak at a Council meeting, or apply to serve on a board.
Sources
This guide draws on public sources, refreshed July 2026: U.S. Census Bureau, Massachusetts DESE School and District Profiles, Massachusetts Legislature (malegislature.gov), and the official North Attleborough government website.