Town Leadership
The Selectmen’s Office
Three Executives, All of Them Elected
The Board of Selectmen as Executive
When a road goes unplowed in Russell, the people who answer for it are on the ballot. The three elected members of the Board of Selectmen, Chairman Wayne Precanico, Keith Cortis, and Illtyd Fernandez-Sierra, run the town themselves, and they do it out of an office at Town Hall staffed by an administrative assistant rather than through an appointed administrator. The board is elected at large to staggered three-year terms, which puts a seat on the ballot most springs, and under the Massachusetts General Laws and the town’s own by-laws it holds the executive powers of the town: it sets policy, signs the warrant that decides what business reaches Town Meeting, makes appointments to town boards and offices, issues licenses, has charge of every town building and property except the schools, and prepares the Annual Report.
That changes what an election here means. When you vote for a Board of Selectmen seat in Russell, you are not choosing someone to supervise a manager. You are choosing a working executive who will sit at a public table at 65 Main Street every other Tuesday evening, and the chairs on the other side of that table are open to any resident who walks in. It also changes where the checks sit. The board recommends, but the Finance Committee reviews every article that spends money and the town’s by-laws forbid Town Meeting from acting on one until that review is posted with the warrant. Then Town Meeting votes, and Town Meeting can cut a line the board and the Finance Committee both agreed on. Three rooms, and the last one is open to every registered voter in Russell.
| Role | Board of Selectmen, the town’s executive and licensing authority |
|---|---|
| Selection | Three members elected at large to staggered three-year terms |
| Office | 65 Main Street, Russell, MA 01071 |
| Phone | 413-862-6200 |
| Website | townofrussell.us |
What the Selectmen’s Office Does
- Sets policy. The board is the town’s policy making agency and holds the executive powers needed to carry those policies out.
- Builds the warrant. The board calls Town Meeting and decides what reaches it, and the warrant is posted inside and outside Town Hall, at the Transfer Station, and at the library.
- Appoints. The board appoints personnel and residents to town boards and committees, and it appoints the Animal Control Officer each year.
- Licenses. The board is the licensing authority for the town, from dog and kennel licenses to junk dealers, tag sales, and permission to sell from a street or sidewalk.
- Holds the town’s property. Under Article 5 of the General By-Laws the board has charge of every town building and property except the schools.
- Answers to Town Meeting. Major spending and bylaws still need the vote of Town Meeting, and in Russell that means every registered voter who walks in.
The Administration
- The office staff: Nancy Boersig is the town’s Administrative Assistant and Town Accountant, and she is the central staff line at Town Hall. Reach the Selectmen’s office at 413-862-6200.
- Elected offices carry much of the work. Russell voters also elect three Light Commissioners, who set the policy of the town’s own electric company, and Russell’s three seats on the Gateway Regional School Committee, so the executive branch here is a set of ballots rather than one org chart.
- The Finance Committee is elected on the floor. Under Article 4 of the General By-Laws its seven members are elected by written ballot at the adjourned annual town meeting, none of them may hold any other town office, and the Town Accountant serves ex officio. The town’s own listing currently carries six names.
- Boards and commissions, appointed by the Board of Selectmen, decide questions like zoning, conservation, and historic preservation.
Contact & Engage
- Town offices: 65 Main Street, Russell, MA 01071. Town Hall 413-862-3265.
- Selectmen’s office: 413-862-6200, open every other Tuesday from 6 to 8 in the evening.
- Report a problem: potholes, broken signs, and plowing go to the Highway Department, 413-862-6222.
- Show up: the board meets every other Tuesday 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.