Town Government
Otis Select Board
About the Board
Three people run Otis between Town Meetings, and you elect all three. Each serves a three-year term on a staggered schedule that puts exactly one seat on the ballot every May, which means the town chooses a third of its executive branch every single spring. The board sets town policy, signs the warrants that decide what Town Meeting gets to vote on, appoints residents to many town boards, and hires and supervises the Town Administrator who runs the town day to day. When a daily problem becomes town policy, this is the room where it happens.
In Otis the same three people also sit as the Board of Health, which is why the minutes are headed Select Board and Board of Health together. Septic permits, food safety and public health rules are decided by the board you already elected.
- Sets policy and direction for the whole town.
- Hires the Town Administrator and holds that office accountable.
- Controls the warrant, deciding what business reaches Town Meeting for a vote.
- Sits as the Board of Health, the same three members in a second role.
Board Members
All three members are elected town-wide. After each annual town election the board reorganizes and picks its own officers. At the meeting on May 27, 2026, the first after that year’s election, the board voted to make Therese Gould its Chair, and she took over running the meeting that night.
Therese Gould
Larry Southard
Gary Thomas
Terms run to May 2027 for Therese Gould, May 2028 for Larry Southard and May 2029 for Gary Thomas. The town routes contact to board members through the Select Board office at (413) 269-0100, and the current roster is posted at otisma.gov.
How One Seat Was Decided in 2026
The 2026 race for the town’s one open Select Board seat is the clearest civics lesson Otis has produced in years. On May 26, 278 of the town’s 1,377 registered voters cast ballots. Gary Thomas finished with 124 votes on the printed ballot and Rhonda LaBombard, running as a write-in, finished with 122. Two votes apart, so the town held a recount.
On June 8, 2026, the Board of Registrars recounted the ballots at Town Hall and certified the result: Gary Thomas 125, Rhonda LaBombard 122, with 21 other write-ins and 10 blanks. A three-vote margin, decided by hand, in a room any resident could watch. If you have ever wondered whether one ballot changes anything in a small town, that is the answer, and it is signed by four registrars.
Meetings & How to Participate
- When: the second and fourth Tuesday of each month at 6:30 in the evening, in the Conference Room at Otis Town Hall, 1 North Main Road. Meetings are added and cancelled, so confirm on the town calendar.
- Agendas & minutes: posted in advance at otisma.gov, board by board, going back years.
- Get on the agenda: email townadmin@townofotisma.com to request an item. Public comment is at the discretion of the Chair, so ask to be recognised before you speak.
- Remote option: the board offers a Zoom link on each agenda alongside the in-person meeting.
- Town Meeting: for the budget and the bylaws, the deciding vote belongs to the registered voters in the hall, which can include you.
Public hearings and meetings are where residents shape town decisions.