Town Leadership
The Town Administrator’s Office
The Town Administrator
James Boudreau
When the reservoir drops five inches in a week, or the Driftway needs milling and repaving, the person with the most operational control over the response is appointed, not elected. James Boudreau is the Town Administrator, hired by the five 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: he appoints and supervises most department heads, shapes and presents the annual budget, and carries the town’s biggest spending requests to Town Meeting for the final vote. Read any set of Select Board minutes and you will find him giving the report that opens the meeting, on water levels, paving schedules, beach staffing and grant awards. Because Scituate hands the daily machinery to an appointed administrator, the plan to fix a problem usually crosses his desk first, then goes to the board and to Town Meeting.
| Role | Town Administrator (chief administrative officer) |
|---|---|
| Selection | Appointed by the Select Board under contract, not elected |
| Office | Town Hall, 600 Chief Justice Cushing Highway, Scituate, MA 02066 |
| Phone | 781-545-8741 |
| Website | scituatema.gov |
What the Town Administrator Does
- Runs the departments. Police, fire, public works, health, the library, recreation and the rest answer to the Town Administrator, who appoints most of their leaders.
- Builds the budget. Each year the Administrator proposes how the town will spend its money for the town and the schools, 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 Scituate that means every registered voter who walks in.
Where the Money Goes
A budget in Scituate passes through three rooms before it is real. The Town Administrator builds it, department by department, and proposes it. The Select Board reviews it and puts it on the warrant. Then Town Meeting votes it, and Town Meeting can cut a line the other two rooms agreed on. Here is the part worth knowing: the room with the last word is open, and you can be standing in it.
The town’s general fund budget for fiscal 2026, voted at the Annual Town Meeting of April 14, 2025, was $102,316,148. The budget carried to the Annual Town Meeting of April 13, 2026 for fiscal 2027 was $109,751,743, recommended by the Select Board and by a unanimous 8 to 0 vote of the Advisory Committee. Here is how that fiscal 2027 request divides up.
| Schools | $51,873,220 (47.26%) |
|---|---|
| Employee benefits | $18,958,921 (17.27%) |
| Public safety | $14,057,262 (12.81%) |
| General government | $5,996,863 (5.46%) |
| Public works | $5,610,777 (5.11%) |
| Recreation and resources | $1,659,419 (1.51%) |
| Health and human services | $1,097,116 (1.00%) |
Source: Town of Scituate, 2026 Spring Annual and Special Town Meeting Advisory Booklet, Article 4, and the 2025 Annual Report.
The Administration
- Department heads are appointed by the Town Administrator and carry out policy, from plowing snow to inspecting restaurants.
- 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.
- The Advisory Committee is Scituate’s finance committee. It is nine residents appointed by the Town Moderator to three-year terms, and it publishes a recommendation on every article before Town Meeting votes.
- Boards and commissions, many of them appointed by the Select Board, decide questions like zoning, conservation, and licensing.
Contact & Engage
- Town Hall: 600 Chief Justice Cushing Highway, Scituate, MA 02066.
- Town Administrator’s Office: 781-545-8741.
- Report a problem: potholes, water mains, sidewalks and snow go to the Department of Public Works, 781-545-8732.
- Show up: the Select Board meets every other Tuesday at 6:30pm at Town Hall, and the public is welcome.
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