Town Leadership
The Southborough Town Administrator’s Office
The Town Administrator
Mark J. Purple
When a road goes unplowed after a storm, or a permit stalls, or the town has to work out what a new subdivision will cost in classrooms and water lines, the person with the most day-to-day control over the answer is not on any ballot. Mark J. Purple is Southborough’s Town Administrator, hired by the five elected members of the Select Board and serving under a contract they can decline to renew. He is the town’s chief administrative officer, which means the daily machinery of Southborough runs through his office.
What does that control look like in practice? He oversees the departments the Select Board places in his charge, and he recommends most department heads, employees, and appointments to the Board for its approval, so the people who plow the roads and inspect the restaurants are hired on his recommendation. Each year he builds the town budget, department by department, and presents it, first to the Select Board and then to Town Meeting, where the final vote belongs to the residents in the room. He is the town’s Chief Procurement Officer, so the contracts the town signs pass through his office, and he negotiates the labor agreements with the town’s unions. He handles annual license renewals, and he manages the rental and use of town property, everything except the buildings that belong to the schools.
The line worth holding onto is the one between what he decides and what the Select Board and Town Meeting decide. Purple runs the town; he does not set its policy or vote its money. The Board sets direction and can remove him, and Town Meeting, open to every registered voter, votes the budget he proposes and can cut a line he and the Board both wanted. So the plan to fix almost any problem in Southborough tends to cross his desk first, then move to the Board for policy, and finally to Town Meeting for the money. Knowing that order tells you where to push: a service request or an operational fix goes to his office, a policy question goes to the Board, and a spending decision waits for the room where you get a vote.
| Role | Town Administrator (chief administrative officer) |
|---|---|
| Selection | Appointed by the Select Board under contract, not elected |
| Office | Southborough Town House, 17 Common Street, Southborough, MA 01772 |
| Phone | 508-485-0710 |
| Website | southboroughma.gov |
What the Town Administrator Does
- Runs the departments. Police, fire, public works, health, recreation, and the rest answer to the Town Administrator, who recommends most of their leaders to the Select Board.
- Builds the budget. Each year the Administrator proposes how the town will spend its money, 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 Southborough that means every registered voter who walks in.
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.
- Boards and commissions, many of them appointed by the Select Board, decide questions like zoning, conservation, and licensing.
Contact & Engage
- Town House: 17 Common Street, Southborough, MA 01772.
- Town Administrator’s Office: 508-485-0710.
- Report a problem: potholes, broken lights, and missed pickups go to the Department of Public Works.
- Show up: the Select Board meets on its published calendar 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.