Town Leadership
The Town Administrator’s Office
The Town Administrator
Michael P. Gilleberto
When a road goes unplowed, a water main breaks on North Street, or a developer files plans off Route 62, the person with the most operational control over the answer is appointed, not elected. Michael P. Gilleberto is North Reading’s Town Administrator, hired by the five elected members of the Select Board to run the town day to day.
The town’s own description of the job is unusually plain about how much it carries. The Town Administrator is the Chief Administrative Officer. He oversees the administration of all town affairs and supervises the departments placed in his charge. He implements and manages the policies, programs and procedures the Select Board adopts. He prepares the budget, hires personnel, and negotiates the labor contracts that set what the town pays the people who work for it. He is the town’s chief procurement officer, and he controls the rental and use of town property, school buildings excepted. He also appoints a number of department heads, boards and committees.
Notice what that list does not include: the final say. The budget he builds is voted by Town Meeting, and every registered voter in North Reading is a member of it. The Select Board that hired him can replace him. So the useful way to think about this office is as the place where a problem first becomes a plan. A resident’s complaint reaches a department, the department reports to him, his plan reaches the Select Board, and the money for it reaches Town Meeting. Four rooms, and you can be standing in the last one.
| Role | Town Administrator (Chief Administrative Officer) |
|---|---|
| Selection | Appointed by the Select Board, not elected |
| Office | Town Hall, 235 North Street, North Reading, MA 01864 |
| Phone | 978-664-6010 |
| Website | northreadingma.gov |
What the Town Administrator Does
- Runs the departments. Public works, health, planning, the library, recreation and the rest report up to the Town Administrator, who appoints many of their leaders.
- Builds the budget. Each year he proposes how the town will spend its money, then defends that plan before the Select Board and Town Meeting, which holds the final vote.
- Negotiates the contracts. Labor agreements and town purchasing both run through this office, which is where a large share of the budget is actually committed.
- Answers to the board. The Administrator serves 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 North Reading that means every registered voter who walks in.
The Administration
- Department heads carry out policy, from plowing snow to inspecting restaurants, and many of them are appointed by the Town Administrator.
- The Select Board is the check: it hires and can replace the Administrator, sets policy, and signs the warrants that put questions before Town Meeting.
- Boards and commissions, many of them appointed by the Select Board, decide questions like zoning, conservation, and licensing.
Contact & Engage
- Town Hall: 235 North Street, North Reading, MA 01864. Open Monday through Thursday 8 am to 4 pm and Friday 8 am to 1 pm.
- Town Administrator’s Office: 978-664-6010.
- Report a problem: potholes, broken lights, and missed pickups go to the Department of Public Works at 978-664-6060.
- Show up: the Select Board typically meets on the first and third Monday of the month 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.