Town Leadership
The Town Manager’s Office
The Town Manager
George H. “Bud” Dunham
When a road goes unplowed or a permit stalls, the person with the most operational control over the response is appointed, not elected. George H. “Bud” Dunham is the Town Manager, and section 5.1.1 of the town charter says how he got there: the Select Board appoints the Town Manager by majority vote of the entire board, choosing solely on executive and administrative training, education, experience and ability. Section 5.1.3 says the board may remove him at its discretion by the same majority, and that its decision is final. So the job is a professional appointment with an elected board holding the other end of it.
What the charter hands him is broad and it has one clear limit. Under section 5.1.4(a) the Town Manager appoints, disciplines, suspends or removes town employees, including civil service positions, “except that the approval of the select board shall be required for the town manager to appoint department heads and the assistant town manager.” Read that clause twice. Massachusetts town manager acts are individually drafted special acts, so the set of offices any one manager fills alone is a fact about that town and nowhere else. In Sandwich the elected board is in the room for every department head. The person who picks your police chief, your fire chief and your public works director needs five elected residents to agree, in public, at a posted meeting.
The rest of the office follows from that. He supervises and directs every appointed department head, organizes the departments, prepares the annual operating budget and the capital improvement program, serves as the town’s chief procurement officer, and administers the personnel policies and the labor contracts. Then section 5.1.4(e) puts him in front of you: the Town Manager must attend all sessions of Town Meeting and answer all questions addressed to him about the warrant articles. If you are a registered voter in Sandwich, you can be the person asking.
| Role | Town Manager (chief administrative officer) |
|---|---|
| Selection | Appointed by the Select Board by majority vote of the entire board, and removable by the same vote. Not elected |
| Office | 100 Route 6A, Sandwich, MA 02563 |
| Phone | 508-888-5144 |
| Website | sandwichmass.org |
What the Town Manager Does
- Hires the staff, with the board’s approval on the top jobs. Charter section 5.1.4(a) gives the Town Manager the appointment of town employees, including civil service positions, and requires Select Board approval for department heads and for the Assistant Town Manager. Section 5.1.4(b) then makes him responsible for supervising and directing all appointed department heads and for organizing the departments.
- Builds the budget. Section 5.1.4(n) puts the annual operating budget and the capital improvement program on his desk to prepare and submit, and makes him responsible for administering it once Town Meeting has adopted it.
- Signs the contracts, up to a line. Section 5.1.4(i) makes him the chief procurement officer for all supplies, materials and equipment and gives him approval of contract awards, with one boundary: any contract over $1,500,000 requires Select Board approval.
- Answers to you, at Town Meeting. Section 5.1.4(e) requires the Town Manager to attend every session of Town Meeting and answer every question addressed to him about the warrant articles.
What the Charter Splits Between Them
Sandwich adopted this charter at Town Meeting in May 2013, the Legislature enacted it as chapter 22 of the Acts of 2014, Town Meeting adopted revisions in May 2024, and the General Court enacted those as chapter 64 of the Acts of 2026. Section 1.2 states the three-part form in one sentence: a town meeting open to all voters, a select board elected by the people, and a town manager appointed by and accountable to the select board. The division is worth knowing before you decide whom to write to.
- Town Meeting holds the legislative power outright under section 3.1, which means the budget and the bylaws. Nothing in the manager’s authority reaches that.
- The Select Board is the board of directors and policy-making body of the town under section 4.2.5(c). It appoints the Town Manager, appoints Town Counsel under section 5.2, appoints members of committees, approves the manager’s choice of every department head, and sets the date and the warrant articles for Town Meeting.
- The Town Manager runs what the charter gives him: the departments and their day-to-day operation, the budget and the capital plan, the purchasing, the personnel policies and the labor contracts. Section 5.1.4(r) also gives him full authority to act for the town during emergencies, including opening the emergency operations center and shelters.
One more line is worth reading closely, because it changed what your ballot looks like. Chapter 64 of the Acts of 2026 moved the office of Town Clerk from elected to appointed. There was no Town Clerk contest on the May 7, 2026 ballot, and there will not be one again.
Contact & Engage
- Town offices: 100 Route 6A, Sandwich, MA 02563, open Monday to Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
- Town Manager’s Office: 508-888-5144. The Assistant Town Manager is Heather Harper.
- Report a problem: potholes, water, drainage and snow go to the Department of Public Works at 508-833-8002.
- Show up: the Select Board meets in the Town Hall auditorium at 130 Main Street, and the public is welcome.
Want to weigh in on a town decision? Learn how to contact your officials so they actually hear you.