Town Leadership
The North Brookfield Selectmen’s Office
Three Chief Executives, All of Them Elected
The Board of Selectmen as Executive
When a road goes unplowed in North Brookfield, the response does not cross an administrator’s desk, because the town does not employ one. The three elected members of the Board of Selectmen, Jamie Gilman, Ralph Kay, and Peter Orsi, serve as the town’s Chief Executive Officers themselves. Most Massachusetts towns of this shape hire a professional Town Administrator to carry the daily machinery; North Brookfield keeps that machinery in the hands of the people it elects. The board oversees the general operation of the town, approves the payment of town bills, makes appointments to town boards and offices, and signs the warrants that put every question in front of Town Meeting. Its office in the Duncan Building at 215 North Main Street is staffed by an executive assistant and an administrative assistant who work for the three members, not the other way around. That changes what an election here means: when you vote for a Selectman, you are not choosing someone to supervise a manager, you are choosing a working chief executive. It also shortens the distance between you and a decision. The person who answers for the plowing schedule, the water bill, and the FY27 budget sits at a public table at the Police Department every Tuesday evening at 6 pm, and the seat across from them is open to any resident who walks in.
| Role | Board of Selectmen, the town’s Chief Executive Officers |
|---|---|
| Selection | Three members elected town-wide to staggered three-year terms |
| Office | Town Offices, 215 North Main Street, North Brookfield, MA 01535 |
| Phone | 508-867-0200 |
| Website | northbrookfield.net |
What the Selectmen’s Office Does
- Oversees town operations. The departments, from the Highway barn to the Transfer Station, answer to the board, which also approves the payment of the town’s bills.
- Builds the warrant. The board decides what reaches Town Meeting, reading and signing the warrant for every Annual and Special Town Meeting.
- Shapes the budget. The board works the annual budget line by line with the Finance Committee, whose recommendations go to Town Meeting, which holds the final vote.
- Appoints. Many of the town’s boards, committees, and offices are filled by the board’s appointment, and it hires for town positions.
- Answers to Town Meeting. Major spending and bylaws still need the vote of Town Meeting, and in North Brookfield that means every registered voter who walks in.
The Administration
- The office staff: Executive Assistant Mary Beth Kularski and Administrative Assistant Katie Lugo run the Selectmen’s office day to day and take minutes at the board’s meetings.
- Elected offices carry much of the work. North Brookfield elects its Town Clerk, Board of Assessors, Board of Health, Water and Sewer Commissioners, Cemetery Commission, Planning Board, and Library Trustees, so the executive branch here is a web of ballots, not one org chart.
- Boards and commissions, many appointed by the Selectmen, decide questions like zoning, conservation, and licensing.
Contact & Engage
- Town Offices: 215 North Main Street, open Monday, Tuesday and Thursday 8 am to 2 pm, Wednesday 8 am to noon.
- Selectmen’s Office: 508-867-0200.
- Report a problem: potholes, broken signs, and plowing go to the Highway Department, 508-867-0213.
- Show up: the board meets Tuesday evenings at 6 pm at the Police Department, 55 School Street, and the public is welcome.
Want to weigh in on a town decision? Learn how to contact your officials so they actually hear you.