Town Edition
Norfolk County
Norwood, Massachusetts
Here is something almost no other town can say: in Norwood, the town government is your electric company and your internet provider. Norwood has run its own power utility since 1907, and today it wires homes with town-owned fiber through Norwood Light Broadband. That is the kind of place Norwood is, a town that decided long ago to run things itself. There is no mayor. Instead a Representative Town Meeting votes the budget, a five-member Board of Selectmen sets policy, and an appointed General Manager runs the town day-to-day. This guide shows you how all of it works, and where an ordinary resident can push on it.
The Norwood 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.
Norwood at a Glance
Sources: Massachusetts DESE, district profile · US Census Bureau (data.census.gov).
- County: Norfolk. Norwood sits about 15 miles southwest of Boston along the Neponset River, a compact town of roughly 10 square miles with two commuter rail stops.
- Government: representative Town Meeting with an elected five-member Board of Selectmen and an appointed General Manager, Tony Mazzucco, who has run the town since 2017.
- Schools: Norwood Public Schools, about 3,500 students across nine schools, led by Superintendent Dr. Timothy Luff.
How Norwood’s Government Works
Norwood runs on a representative Town Meeting, an old New England form scaled up for a busy town. Voters in each precinct elect Town Meeting members, and those neighbors hold the final vote on the budget and the bylaws. Voters also elect a five-member Board of Selectmen to set policy and a School Committee to oversee the schools. The Board hires a professional General Manager to run the town day-to-day. So the levers are split on purpose: residents elect the people, Town Meeting votes the money, the Board sets direction, and the General Manager carries it out.
Town Meeting
The legislative body. Members elected from the town’s precincts adopt the annual budget, pass town bylaws, and approve major spending. It is the closest thing to direct democracy at scale.
Board of Selectmen
Five members elected town-wide to three-year terms. They set policy, grant licenses, appoint many boards, and hire and supervise the General Manager. There is no single elected executive.
General Manager
The appointed chief administrator. Runs the departments, builds the budget, and answers to the Board of Selectmen. Hired under contract, not elected.
School Committee
Five members, elected by the voters of the district the schools serve. It sets school policy, approves the school budget, and hires the Superintendent.
- Residents elect Town Meeting members, the five Selectmen, and the School Committee.
- The Board of Selectmen hires the General Manager and sets town policy.
- Town Meeting votes the budget and the bylaws up or down.
- You take part: run for Town Meeting at 18, speak at a Selectmen’s meeting, or testify at Town Meeting.
Explore the Norwood Edition
- General Manager’s OfficeThe town’s chief administrator
- Board of SelectmenYour five board members
- School CommitteeSuperintendent & committee
- Town DepartmentsWho does what at Town Hall
- Boards & CommissionsWhere residents serve
- LegislatorsYour voice in Boston & D.C.
- Norwood HistoryFrom South Dedham to a town of its own
- DemographicsWho lives in Norwood
- Non-ProfitsCommunity organizations
- Student DataNorwood Public Schools by the numbers
Civic Calendar
- Board of Selectmen: meets on Tuesday evenings in Room 34 of Town Hall, 566 Washington Street, and the meetings are open to the public.
- Town Meeting: the representative Town Meeting holds its main session in the spring and can be called back in the fall for special business.
- Town elections: Norwood votes in the spring. The 2026 annual town election was held on April 6.
- 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 Norfolk County, and that includes Norwood. 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 Norwood
You do not have to wait until you can vote to be heard in Norwood. Here is how to take a question from your kitchen table into the room where it gets decided.
- Pick the right body. A pothole or a park is the Board of Selectmen and the General Manager. A class size or a school program is the School Committee. A town budget or a bylaw is Town Meeting.
- Find the meeting. The Board of Selectmen meets Tuesday evenings in Room 34 of Town Hall; the School Committee meets in the evening at the James R. Savage Educational Center. Agendas are posted in advance.
- Know your members. Read who sits on the board before you go, so you can speak to the people who will actually vote.
- Speak. Most meetings set aside time for public comment. Say your name, say where you live, and make one clear ask.
- Town Hall: 566 Washington Street, Norwood, MA 02062. Main line 781-762-1240.
- Public schools: Norwood Public Schools, 781-762-6804, norwood.k12.ma.us.
Local government works best when residents show up. Find your Board of Selectmen, speak at a Tuesday meeting, or run for Town Meeting in your precinct.
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 Norwood government website.