Town Leadership
The Town Manager’s Office
The Town Manager
Derek Brindisi
Plymouth has never had a mayor. When a street goes unplowed or a new development rises along Route 3, the person with the most operational control was never on a ballot you could mark. Derek Brindisi is the Town Manager, hired by the five elected members of the Select Board to run the town day to day, and they can let him go if they lose faith in him. He is the chief administrative officer: he hires and supervises most department heads, shapes and presents the annual budget, and carries the town’s biggest spending requests to Town Meeting for the final vote. Brindisi came up through public service, with a degree from Worcester State University and a master’s in public administration from Clark University, and he worked in Plymouth as assistant town manager before returning in 2022 to lead it. Because Plymouth hands the daily machinery to an appointed manager, the plan to fix a problem usually crosses his desk first, then goes to the board and to Town Meeting.
| Role | Town Manager (chief administrative officer) |
|---|---|
| In office | Since 2022 |
| Selection | Appointed by the Select Board under contract, not elected |
| Office | Town Hall, 26 Court Street, Plymouth, MA 02360 |
| Phone | 508-322-3383 |
| Website | plymouth-ma.gov |
What the Town Manager Does
- Runs the departments. Police, fire, public works, health, recreation, and the rest answer to the Town Manager, who appoints most of their leaders.
- Builds the budget. Each year the Manager proposes how the town will spend its money, recently a plan of roughly 343 million dollars, then defends it before the Select Board and Town Meeting.
- Answers to the board. The Manager serves at the pleasure of the elected Select Board and carries out the policies it sets.
- Reports to Town Meeting. Major spending and bylaws still need the vote of the representative Town Meeting, the roughly 162 elected members.
The Administration
- Department heads are appointed by the Town Manager and carry out policy, from plowing snow to inspecting restaurants.
- The Select Board is the check: it hires and can fire the Manager, sets policy, and signs the warrants that put questions before Town Meeting.
- Boards and commissions, many of them appointed by the Select Board, decide questions like zoning, conservation, and licensing.
Contact & Engage
- Town Hall: 26 Court Street, Plymouth, MA 02360. Main line 508-747-1620.
- Town Manager’s Office: 508-322-3383.
- Report a problem: service requests like potholes and missed pickups go through the town’s online contact tools at plymouth-ma.gov.
- Show up: the Select Board meets on Tuesday 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.