Town Leadership
The Select Board’s Office
Three Executives, All of Them Elected
The Select Board as Executive
When a road goes unplowed in Pelham, the response does not cross an administrator’s desk, because the town does not employ one. The three elected members of the Select Board, Robert V. Agoglia, Jessica Gail Barr, and Tara Loomis, run the town themselves, with one staff member, a Select Board Executive Assistant, to carry the paperwork. The Town Bylaws and the General Laws of Massachusetts grant the board broad powers to govern the town: it acts as the primary policy-making body, appoints the town’s boards and committees, recommends the budget to the Annual Town Meeting, approves the reorganization of town departments, provides oversight in litigation, and serves as the licensing authority for the town. Most Massachusetts towns of this shape hire a professional Town Administrator to carry the daily machinery; Pelham keeps that machinery in the hands of the people it elects. That changes what an election here means: when you vote for a Select Board member, you are not choosing someone to supervise a manager, you are choosing a working executive. The person who answers for the plowing schedule and the next budget sits at a public table on the first and third Mondays of the month at 7:00 in the evening, and the seat across from them is open to any resident who walks in.
| Role | Select Board, the town’s executive and licensing authority |
|---|---|
| Selection | Three members elected town-wide to staggered three-year terms |
| Office | 351 Amherst Road, Pelham, MA 01002 |
| Phone | (413) 253-7129 ext 1 |
| Website | pelhamma.gov |
What the Select Board’s Office Does
- Sets policy. The board acts as the town’s primary policy-making body on the whole range of issues that affect Pelham’s development and services.
- 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 recommends the annual budget to the Annual Town Meeting, alongside the Finance Committee’s review, and Town Meeting holds the final vote.
- Licenses. The board is the licensing authority for the town, from lodging houses and common victuallers to special one day permits.
- Answers to Town Meeting. Major spending and bylaws still need the vote of Town Meeting, and in Pelham that means every registered voter who walks in.
The Administration
- The office staff: Susannah Martin, the Select Board Executive Assistant, runs the board’s office day to day and is the resident’s first point of contact.
- Elected offices carry much of the work. The May 2026 town ballot filled the Select Board, Board of Assessors, Board of Health, School Committee, Planning Board, Library Trustees, Cemetery Commission, Auditor, and Moderator, so the executive branch here is a web of ballots you can run for, not one org chart.
- Boards and commissions, permanent and ad hoc, are appointed by the Select Board and decide questions like zoning, conservation, and historic preservation.
Contact & Engage
- Town offices: 351 Amherst Road, Pelham, MA 01002.
- Select Board’s office: (413) 253-7129 ext 1, executiveassistant@pelhamma.gov.
- Report a problem: potholes, broken signs, and plowing go to the Department of Public Works, (413) 253-5245.
- Show up: the board meets on the first and third Mondays of the month at 7:00 PM, and the public is welcome.
Want to weigh in on a town decision? Learn how to contact your officials so they actually hear you.