Town Leadership
The Select Board’s Office
The Executives You Elect
The Select Board as Executive
When a road goes unplowed in Petersham, the response does not cross an administrator’s desk, because the town does not employ one. The three elected members of the Select Board run the town themselves. The board calls the town’s elections and Town Meetings, writes and posts the warrants that set what Town Meeting gets to decide, prepares and reviews the annual budget, procures the goods and services the town needs, manages the oversight of town buildings, and represents Petersham in state and regional matters. Most Massachusetts towns of this shape hire a professional Town Administrator to carry the daily machinery. Petersham keeps that machinery in the hands of the people it elects, and it staffs the office with a Selectboard Administrative Coordinator, Sherry Berube, who runs the day-to-day paperwork under the board’s direction. 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 at Petersham Town Hall on a Thursday evening, and the seat across from them is open to any resident who walks in.
| Role | Select Board, the town’s chief executive and licensing authority |
|---|---|
| Selection | Three members elected town-wide to staggered three-year terms |
| Office | 3 South Main Street, P.O. Box 486, Petersham, MA 01366 |
| Phone | 978-724-3353 |
| Website | townofpetersham.gov |
What the Select Board Does
- Sets policy. The board acts as the town’s primary policy-making body across the services and decisions that shape Petersham.
- Builds the warrant. The board calls each Annual and Special Town Meeting and signs the warrant that decides what reaches the floor for a vote.
- Prepares the budget. The board prepares and reviews the annual budget alongside the Advisory Finance Committee, and Town Meeting holds the final vote.
- Runs the town’s business. The board procures goods and services, oversees the town’s buildings, and represents Petersham in state and regional matters.
- Answers to Town Meeting. Major spending and bylaws still need the vote of Town Meeting, and in Petersham that means every registered voter who walks in.
The Board and Its Office
- The board: three seats, elected town-wide to staggered three-year terms. Two are filled now, by Chair Deborah Poodry and Vice Chair Josh Chernin; the third is open, and any registered voter of the town can run for it.
- The office staff: Selectboard Administrative Coordinator Sherry Berube runs the office day to day. The office is open Monday and Tuesday 9:00 to 4:00, Wednesday 9:00 to 12:00, and Thursday 4:00 to 5:00.
- Elected offices carry much of the work. The town ballot fills a long list of working offices, among them the Moderator, the Board of Assessors, the Board of Health, the Planning Board, the Cemetery Commission, the Tree Warden, and the School Committee, so the executive branch here is a web of ballots, not one org chart.
- Boards and commissions, appointed by the Select Board, decide questions like zoning, conservation, and historic preservation.
Contact & Engage
- Town offices: 3 South Main Street, Petersham, with the Selectboard Office reachable at 978-724-3353.
- Report a problem: potholes, broken signs, and plowing go to the Highway Department, 978-724-3211.
- Show up: the board meets Thursday evenings at Petersham 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.