Town Leadership
The Phillipston Board of Selectmen’s Office
Three Executives, All of Them Elected
The Board of Selectmen as Executive
When a road goes unplowed in Phillipston, the response does not cross an administrator’s desk, because the town does not employ one. The three elected members of the Board of Selectmen, Bernard Malouin, Gerhard Fandreyer, and Nicole Gough, run the town themselves. 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, oversees the town departments, and serves as the licensing authority for the town, from common victuallers to one day permits. Most Massachusetts towns of this shape hire a professional Town Administrator to carry the daily machinery; Phillipston keeps that machinery in the hands of the people it elects, with an assistant to the board handling the office work. That changes what an election here means: when you vote for a Board of Selectmen member, you are not choosing someone to supervise a manager, you are choosing a working executive. The people who answer for the plowing schedule and the town budget sit at a public table at Town Hall on alternate Wednesday evenings, 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 | 50 The Common, Phillipston, MA 01331 |
| Phone | 978-249-6828 |
| Website | phillipston-ma.gov |
What the Board of Selectmen’s Office Does
- Sets policy. The board acts as the town’s primary policy-making body on the whole range of issues that affect Phillipston’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, issuing common victualler, alcohol, and one day permits.
- Answers to Town Meeting. Major spending and bylaws still need the vote of Town Meeting, and in Phillipston that means every registered voter who walks in.
The Administration
- The office staff: Jennifer Basso serves as Assistant to the Board of Selectmen and runs the office day to day, reachable at 978-249-6828. The board employs no administrator or manager above her.
- Elected offices carry much of the work. The town ballot fills many working offices, among them the Moderator, Assessors, Board of Health, Planning Board, Cemetery Commission, Tax Collector, and Library Trustees, so the executive branch here is a web of ballots, not one org chart.
- Boards and commissions, permanent and ad hoc, are appointed by the Board of Selectmen and decide questions like zoning, conservation, and historic preservation.
Contact & Engage
- Town offices: 50 The Common, Phillipston, MA 01331, Town Hall main line 978-249-6828.
- Assistant to the Board of Selectmen: Jennifer Basso, 978-249-6828.
- Report a problem: potholes, broken signs, and plowing go to the Highway Department, 978-249-6851.
- Show up: the board meets on alternate Wednesday evenings 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.