Town Leadership
The Selectmen’s Office
Three Executives, All of Them Elected
The Board of Selectmen as Executive
When a road goes unplowed in Oakham, the person who answers for it is one of three people the town elected. The Board of Selectmen, Michael Brunelle, Dennis Bergin, and Frederick Gehring, serves as the town’s chief executive: it sets policy, approves the bills, makes the appointments to town boards and offices, signs the warrants that decide what Town Meeting votes on, and acts as the town’s licensing authority for alcohol, common victuallers, and one-day permits. Oakham does this work through the elected board itself and an executive assistant in the Selectmen’s office, rather than through an appointed town administrator. That changes what an election here means: when you vote for a member of the Board of Selectmen, you are choosing a working executive, not someone to supervise a manager. The people who answer for the plowing schedule and the town budget sit at a public table at the Oakham Town Hall on Monday evenings every two weeks at 6, and the seat across from them is open to any resident who walks in.
| Role | Board of Selectmen, the town’s executive and licensing authority |
|---|---|
| Selection | Three members elected town-wide to staggered three-year terms |
| Office | Oakham Town Hall, 2 Coldbrook Road, Unit 1, Oakham, MA 01068 |
| Phone | 508-882-5549 extension 1 |
| Website | oakham-ma.gov |
What the Selectmen’s Office Does
- Sets policy. The board acts as the town’s primary policy-making body across the whole range of issues that affect Oakham’s services and development.
- Builds the warrant. The board decides what reaches Town Meeting, signing the warrant for every Annual and Special Town Meeting.
- Recommends the budget. The board and the Finance Committee bring the annual budget to Town Meeting, which holds the final vote.
- Licenses. The board is the licensing authority for alcohol, common victuallers, and special one-day permits.
- Answers to Town Meeting. Major spending and bylaws still need the vote of Town Meeting, and in Oakham that means every registered voter who walks in.
The Office and the Ballot
- The office staff: Executive Secretary Maribel LaRange runs the Selectmen’s office day to day, and the office is open to the public Monday through Friday, 9:00 to noon.
- Elected offices carry much of the work. The May 18, 2026 town ballot filled offices including the Moderator, the Board of Assessors, the Board of Health, the Planning Board, the Cemetery Commission, a Library Trustee, and a School Committee seat, so the town’s power map is a web of ballots, not one org chart.
- Boards and commissions, appointed by the Board of Selectmen, decide questions like zoning, conservation, and land use.
Contact & Engage
- Town offices: 2 Coldbrook Road, with public office hours Monday through Friday, 9:00 to noon.
- Selectmen’s office: 508-882-5549 extension 1.
- Report a problem: potholes, broken signs, and plowing go to the Highway Department, 508-882-5556.
- Show up: the board meets on Monday evenings every two weeks at 6:00 PM at the 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.