Town Government
Boards & Commissions
What Boards & Commissions Are
Beyond the Select Board and the School Committee, much of Sandwich’s governing happens on volunteer boards and commissions. They approve new development, hear zoning appeals, protect the town’s wetlands and open space, weigh in on historic places, and guide services for residents. They are the rooms where an ordinary resident can have the most direct hand in a decision.
Sandwich splits them two ways, and the charter says which is which. Charter section 4.1 lists the offices filled by the voters: a five-member Select Board, a seven-member School Committee, a Moderator, a three-member Board of Assessors, a three-member Board of Health, a seven-member Planning Board, constables, nine trustees of the Sandwich library, three trustees of the Weston Memorial Fund, a five-member Sandwich historic district committee, and a five-member Housing Authority of which the voters elect four. Everything else is appointed, and section 4.2.5(c) hands that job to the Select Board, which appoints the members of committees and can establish new ones to address specific needs.
Key Boards & Commissions
- Planning Board reviews subdivisions, site plans, and major development. Seven members, elected.
- Zoning Board of Appeals hears variances and special permits. Appointed by the Select Board.
- Conservation Commission protects Sandwich’s wetlands, ponds and open space. Appointed by the Select Board.
- Finance Committee is nine residents who volunteer to review the town’s operating and capital budgets and to recommend on every financial article that reaches Town Meeting. Their budget message is printed in the warrant you carry into the hall.
- Board of Health oversees inspections, septic rules, and public health. Three members, elected.
- Community Preservation Committee recommends how the town spends its Community Preservation Act money on open space, historic preservation, recreation and community housing, and Town Meeting votes each project. This is the committee the school court rebuild came through.
- Historical Commission was established in 1971 to identify, document, preserve and protect the town’s historic and archaeological assets.
- Charter Review Committee is required by charter section 9.3. At least every ten years the Select Board must appoint seven members to review the charter and report back within six months.
For the full roster, current members, vacancies, and schedules, see sandwichmass.org.
How to Serve
- Find an opening on the town’s committees page, which lists every board and whether it is active.
- Submit a letter of interest or application to the Select Board office at 100 Route 6A. The board advertises openings on the town website and takes applications up to a stated meeting date.
- Interview if asked, and await appointment.
- Serve: attend the public meetings and help make decisions for your town.
Two things in the charter are worth knowing before you apply. Section 4.7(a) says each board elects its own presiding officer at its annual organization meeting and may keep the same chair for no more than two consecutive years, so the seat at the head of the table moves. And section 4.7(b) says members of committees are either elected for staggered three-year terms or appointed for a period the Select Board sets, so the length of the commitment is knowable before you take it on.
Serving on a board is one of the most direct ways to shape Sandwich.