Town Leadership
The Town Administrator’s Office
The Town Administrator
Terry J. Narkewicz
When a road washes out on a hill farm or a permit stalls at Town Hall, the person with the most operational control over the response is appointed, not elected. Terry J. Narkewicz is the Town Administrator, hired by the three elected members of the Selectboard to run the town day to day, and they can let him go if they lose faith in him. In a town of about 1,900 people, that job is unusually broad: he is the chief administrative officer, and much of what happens between one Town Meeting and the next passes through his office.
The clearest way to understand the office is to separate what from how. Town Meeting and the Selectboard decide what the town will do: whether to buy the development rights to a farm, how much to raise for the schools, which bylaws to adopt. The Administrator decides how it gets done: he builds the annual budget line by line before the Selectboard reviews it, he negotiates contracts, he manages the town’s finances and its grants, and he supervises the day-to-day work of the departments that report to Town Hall. He does not command the police or fire response directly, because Shelburne keeps public safety in separate hands, but he coordinates the rest of the operation and answers for it.
He is appointed by the Selectboard under contract, not elected, which is exactly why the office is worth knowing. The board sets policy and hires him to carry it out, and if residents want a decision changed, the fastest path is often to bring it to the board that supervises him rather than to the Administrator alone. Major spending and any new bylaw still need the vote of Town Meeting, so the plan to fix a problem usually crosses his desk first, then goes to the board, then to the voters in the room.
| Role | Town Administrator (chief administrative officer) |
|---|---|
| Selection | Appointed by the Selectboard under contract, not elected |
| Office | Town Hall, 51 Bridge Street, Shelburne, MA 01370 |
| Phone | (413) 625-0300 x3 |
| Website | townofshelburnema.gov |
What the Town Administrator Does
- Runs the departments. The Highway Department, the library, the transfer station, the assessors, the clerk’s office, and the rest of Town Hall answer to the Town Administrator, who helps appoint and supervise their leaders.
- Builds the budget. Each year the Administrator proposes how the town will spend its money, then defends that plan before the Selectboard and Town Meeting, which holds the final vote.
- Answers to the board. The Administrator serves at the pleasure of the elected Selectboard and carries out the policies it sets.
- Reports to Town Meeting. Major spending and bylaws still need the vote of Town Meeting, and in Shelburne that means every registered voter who walks in.
The Administration
- Department heads carry out policy from Town Hall, from plowing the town roads to keeping the vital records.
- The Selectboard is the check: it hires and can fire the Administrator, sets policy, and signs the warrants that put questions before Town Meeting.
- Boards and commissions, many of them appointed by the Selectboard, decide questions like zoning, conservation, and licensing.
Contact & Engage
- Town Hall: 51 Bridge Street, Shelburne, MA 01370.
- Town Administrator’s Office: (413) 625-0300 x3.
- Report a problem: a pothole, a washed-out road, or a downed limb goes to the Highway Department at (413) 625-0311.
- Show up: the Selectboard meets most Monday evenings at 5:30 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.