Town Leadership
The Rockland Town Administrator’s Office
The Town Administrator
Douglas Lapp
Rockland is run day to day by Douglas Lapp, the Town Administrator, and he was hired by the five elected members of the Select Board. That is the first thing worth knowing about this office: the person with the most operational control over the town answers to a board you elect, and the board can let him go if it loses confidence in him.
The town charter makes the Town Administrator the administrative officer of the town, reporting directly to the Select Board and acting as its agent. The charter then names the work. He runs the annual operating budget process, building it department by department before anyone votes on it. He sets strategic plans and objectives. He handles collective bargaining with the town’s unions, coordinates insurance and grants, and serves as the town’s chief procurement officer, which means Rockland’s contracts pass through his office. He supervises operational audits, manages personnel, and is responsible for the maintenance and use of town buildings. And he is charged with making sure the General Laws, the Rockland Town Charter, the Town By-Laws, and the votes of Town Meeting and of the Select Board are actually carried out.
Watch how that plays out on a hire. In April 2026 the town needed a new Health Agent. Under Charter section C-2.19(A) the Town Administrator ran an internal review team, in that case with the Assistant Town Administrator, the Human Resources Director and the Deputy Fire Chief, and brought a single recommendation to the Select Board. The board voted the appointment in open session. The administrator does the searching and the recommending; the elected board does the appointing.
The budget works the same way, in three rooms. The Town Administrator writes it. The Select Board reviews it and puts it on the Town Meeting warrant. Then Town Meeting votes it, and Town Meeting can cut a line the other two rooms agreed on. That is where an ordinary resident’s hand reaches this office most directly: not by appointment, but by standing up in the hall in May. The Assistant Town Administrator, Courtney Bjorgaard, works alongside him and reports to the board when he is away.
| Role | Town Administrator (administrative officer of the town) |
|---|---|
| Selection | Appointed by the Select Board under contract, not elected |
| Office | Town Hall, 242 Union Street, Rockland, MA 02370 |
| Phone | 781-871-1874, ext. 1105 |
| Website | rockland-ma.gov |
What the Town Administrator Does
- Runs the departments. Police, fire, highway, water, sewer, health, planning, recreation and the rest report up through this office, and the charter gives it the lead role in hiring their heads.
- Builds the budget. Each year the office 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 Town Administrator serves under contract 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 Rockland that means every registered voter who walks in.
The Administration
- Department heads are hired through the charter’s appointment process and carry out policy, from plowing snow to inspecting restaurants.
- The Select Board is the check: it hires and can dismiss the Town 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: 242 Union Street, Rockland, MA 02370, weekdays 8:30 am to 4:30 pm.
- Town Administrator’s Office: 781-871-1874, ext. 1105.
- Report a problem: potholes, drainage and street issues go to the Highway Department at 781-878-0634.
- Show up: the Select Board meets the first and third Tuesday of the month 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.