Town Edition
Plymouth County
Plymouth, Massachusetts
The town you live in is the oldest one in New England, settled by English colonists in 1620 on land the Wampanoag had farmed for centuries. Plymouth calls itself America’s Hometown, and it is also the largest town by land area in Massachusetts, big enough to hold pine barrens, kettle ponds, a working harbor, and the closed Pilgrim nuclear plant all at once. This guide shows you how Plymouth runs today: Town Meeting, the Select Board, the appointed Town Manager, the legislators who carry your voice to Boston and Washington, and the data behind it all.
The Plymouth Civics Handbook
A plain-language guide to how your town works: who represents you, how decisions get made, and how to make your voice heard. Read it online.
Plymouth at a Glance
Sources: Massachusetts DESE, district profile · US Census Bureau (data.census.gov).
- County: Plymouth. The town wraps around Plymouth Harbor on the South Shore and stretches inland across more than 100 square miles, the largest town footprint in the state.
- Government: representative Town Meeting with an elected five-member Select Board and an appointed Town Manager, Derek Brindisi, who has run the town since 2022.
- Schools: Plymouth Public Schools, about 6,800 students across 13 schools, led by Superintendent Christopher S. Campbell.
How Plymouth’s Government Works
Plymouth runs on a representative Town Meeting, an old New England form scaled up for a big town. Voters in each of the town’s 18 precincts elect Town Meeting members, roughly 162 in all, and those neighbors hold the final vote on the budget and the bylaws. Voters also elect a five-member Select Board to set policy and a School Committee to oversee the schools. The Select Board hires a professional Town Manager to run the town day to day. So the levers are split on purpose: residents elect the people, Town Meeting votes the money, the Select Board sets direction, and the Town Manager carries it out.
Town Meeting
The legislative body. Members elected from 18 precincts adopt the annual budget, pass town bylaws, and approve major spending. It is the closest thing to direct democracy at scale.
Select Board
Five members elected town-wide. They set policy, sign warrants, appoint many boards, and hire and supervise the Town Manager.
Town Manager
The appointed chief administrator. Runs the departments, builds the budget, and answers to the Select Board. Hired under contract, not elected.
School Committee
Seven members, elected by the voters of the district the schools serve. It sets school policy, approves the school budget, and hires the Superintendent.
- Residents elect Town Meeting members, the five Select Board members, and the School Committee.
- The Select Board hires the Town Manager and sets town policy.
- Town Meeting votes the budget and the bylaws up or down.
- You take part: run for Town Meeting at 18, speak at a Select Board meeting, or testify at Town Meeting.
Explore the Plymouth Edition
- Town Manager’s OfficeThe town’s chief administrator
- Select BoardYour five board members
- School CommitteeSuperintendent & committee
- Town DepartmentsWho does what at Town Hall
- Boards & CommissionsWhere residents serve
- LegislatorsYour voice in Boston & D.C.
- Plymouth HistoryFrom Patuxet to America’s Hometown
- DemographicsWho lives in Plymouth
- Non-ProfitsCommunity organizations
- Student DataPlymouth Public Schools by the numbers
Civic Calendar
- Select Board: meets on Tuesday evenings at Town Hall, 26 Court Street, and the meetings are open to the public.
- Town Meeting: the representative Town Meeting holds its main session in the spring and can be called back in the fall for special business.
- Town elections: Plymouth votes in May. The 2026 town election was held on May 16. The next is in May 2027.
- State and federal elections: even-numbered years. The 2026 primary and general are this fall.
Your County Officials
Two of the people with the most direct power over your life are elected countywide. The district attorney decides who gets charged with a crime, and what they get charged with. The sheriff runs the county jail. Both of them answer to the voters of Plymouth County, and that includes Plymouth. They appear on your ballot. Now you know what to look for.
Every county in Massachusetts elects its own, and the job is the same everywhere: the charging decisions, the jail. Look up any town in the state and see who holds these two offices there.
Your First Civic Action in Plymouth
You do not have to wait until you can vote to be heard. Here is a concrete path from “I care about this” to “I said it on the record to the people who decide,” using rooms and phone numbers that are already open to you.
- Pick the right body. A park, a road, a pothole, taxes, or a line in the town budget is Select Board territory, and the biggest money and bylaw questions ultimately go to Town Meeting. Your school, a class, a program, or the school calendar belongs to the School Committee.
- Find the meeting. The Select Board meets Tuesday evenings at Town Hall, 26 Court Street, and the meetings are open to the public. The representative Town Meeting holds its main session in the spring. Agendas and minutes post in advance at plymouth-ma.gov.
- Know your Select Board members. Plymouth elects five Select Board members, and every one of them answers to the whole town, because the board has no ward seats. The Town Clerk’s office, which keeps the town’s records and runs its elections, is your reference point at 508-322-3433.
- Speak. The Select Board opens its meetings to public comment, and so does the School Committee. You check the agenda for the sign-up procedure, you get your time, and you say your piece on the record. For the budget and the bylaws, the deciding vote belongs to the Town Meeting members elected from your own precinct.
- Or skip the trip. Report a pothole, a missed pickup, or another service problem any time through the town’s online contact tools at plymouth-ma.gov, or call Town Hall at 508-747-1620.
- Town Hall (main line): 508-747-1620
- Town Clerk (records and elections): 508-322-3433
- Plymouth Public Schools: 508-830-4300, plymouth.k12.ma.us
Local government works best when residents show up. Find your Select Board, speak at a Tuesday meeting, or run for Town Meeting in your precinct.
Sources
This guide draws on public sources, refreshed July 2026: U.S. Census Bureau, Massachusetts DESE School and District Profiles, Massachusetts Legislature (malegislature.gov), and the official Plymouth government website.