Town Leadership
The Town Administrator’s Office
The Town Administrator
Matthew Fortier
When a road goes unplowed or a permit stalls, the person with the most operational control over the response is appointed, not elected. Matthew Fortier is the Town Administrator, hired by the five elected members of the Select Board to run Orange day to day, and they can let him go if they lose faith in him. He is the chief administrative officer: he helps supervise the departments, shapes and presents the annual budget, and carries the town’s biggest spending requests to Town Meeting for the final vote. He is appointed by the Select Board and serves under contract. Because Orange hands the daily machinery to an appointed administrator, the plan to fix a problem usually crosses his desk first, then goes to the board and to Town Meeting.
| Role | Town Administrator (chief administrative officer) |
|---|---|
| Selection | Appointed by the Select Board under contract, not elected |
| Office | Town Hall, 6 Prospect Street, Orange, MA 01364 |
| Phone | 978-544-1100 ext. 106 |
| Website | townoforange.org |
A Town Changing Its Own Government
Orange is in the middle of a rare thing: it is rewriting how it governs itself. On January 12, 2026 a Special Town Meeting voted 155 to 12 to adopt a new town charter. Governor Healey signed it into law, and it took effect on July 1, 2026. The charter turns the Town Administrator’s job into a strong Town Manager, a professional chief executive with clearer authority to hire, direct, and manage town employees. Through the summer of 2026 the Select Board interviewed candidates and moved to name the town’s first Town Manager. What does not change is the room with the last word: the budget still belongs to Town Meeting, and that room is open to you.
What the Town Administrator Does
- Runs the departments. Police, fire, public works, health, and the rest report up through the town’s chief administrator.
- Builds the budget. Each year the administration proposes how the town will spend its money for the town and the schools, then defends that plan before the Select Board and Town Meeting, which holds the final vote.
- Answers to the board. The administrator serves at the pleasure of 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 Orange that means every registered voter who walks in.
Contact & Engage
- Town Hall: 6 Prospect Street, Orange, MA 01364.
- Town Administrator’s Office: 978-544-1100 ext. 106.
- Report a problem: potholes and road issues go to the Highway Department; water and sewer to the Water Department.
- Show up: the Select Board meets every other Wednesday at 5:30 p.m. 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.