Town Leadership
The Town Administrator’s Office
The Town Administrator
Cameron Durant
When a road goes unplowed or a permit stalls, the person with the most operational control over the response is appointed, not elected. Cameron Durant is Rochester’s Town Administrator, hired by the three 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 of a town that keeps its lawmaking power in a room full of neighbors: Town Meeting still votes the budget and the bylaws, so the Administrator’s job is to build the plan and make it work, not to decide it alone. He drafts and presents the annual budget, supervises the town’s department heads, negotiates contracts, and carries the town’s biggest spending requests to the Select Board and then to Town Meeting for the final vote. He answers to the board under contract and serves at its pleasure. Because Rochester hands the daily machinery to a professional administrator while reserving the big decisions for the floor of Town Meeting, the plan to fix a problem usually crosses his desk first, then the board’s, then the whole town’s.
| Role | Town Administrator (chief administrative officer) |
|---|---|
| Selection | Appointed by the Select Board under contract, not elected |
| Office | Town Hall, 1 Constitution Way, Rochester, MA 02770 |
| Phone | 508-763-3871 ext. 110 |
| Website | townofrochestermass.com |
What the Town Administrator Does
- Runs the departments. Police, fire, highway, health, and the rest answer to the Town Administrator, who supervises the town’s department heads.
- Builds the budget. Each year the Administrator proposes how the town will spend its money, then defends that plan before the Select Board and Town Meeting, which holds the final vote.
- Answers to the board. The Administrator 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 Town Meeting, and in Rochester that means every registered voter who walks in.
The Administration
- Department heads carry out policy, from plowing snow to inspecting a septic system.
- The Select Board is the check: it hires and can fire the Administrator, 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: 1 Constitution Way, Rochester, MA 02770.
- Town Administrator’s Office: 508-763-3871 ext. 110.
- Report a problem: potholes, downed trees, and road issues go to the Highway Department, 508-763-1991.
- Show up: the Select Board meets Monday 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.