Town Leadership
The Selectmen’s Office
Three Executives, All of Them Elected
The Board of Selectmen as Executive
Tolland is run by three people you can vote for. Steven DellaGiustina, Patrick Barrett, and Edwin Deming make up the Board of Selectmen, which the town’s own charter language calls the community’s principal elected executive board. It acts as a collective body, and no single member can act alone unless the board specifically authorizes it. The Town Bylaws and the General Laws of Massachusetts give the board broad power to govern: it sets town policy, determines the Town Meeting warrant, calls the town’s elections and meetings, recommends the budget, appoints residents to town boards and offices, and serves as the licensing authority for the town. It does this work itself, out of a staffed office, rather than through an appointed Town Administrator, which is unusual and which changes what an election here means: when you vote for a Selectman, you are choosing a working executive, not someone to supervise a manager. The people who answer for the plowing schedule and the next budget sit at a public table on Monday evenings at Town Hall, and the seat across from them is open to any resident who walks in.
| Role | Board of Selectmen, the town’s principal elected executive and licensing authority |
|---|---|
| Selection | Three members elected town-wide to staggered three-year terms |
| Office | Tolland Town Hall, 241 West Granville Road, Tolland, MA 01034 |
| Phone | 413-258-4794 Ext. 101 |
| Website | tolland-ma.gov |
What the Selectmen’s Office Does
- Sets policy. The board is the town’s primary policy-making body across the range of issues that affect Tolland’s services and development.
- Builds the warrant. The board determines what reaches Town Meeting, signing the warrant for every Annual and Special Town Meeting and calling the town’s elections.
- Recommends the budget. The board and the Finance Committee bring the annual budget to Town Meeting, which holds the final vote.
- Licenses and hires. The board issues the town’s licenses and permits, including for special events, and selects, employs, and manages the town’s staff in authorized positions.
- Answers to Town Meeting. Major spending and bylaws still need the vote of Town Meeting, and in Tolland that means every registered voter who walks in.
The Office and the Ballot
- The office staff: Margaret McClellan is the Assistant to the Selectmen and runs the board’s office day to day, open Monday through Wednesday, 9:00 to 4:00.
- Elected offices carry much of the work. Alongside the Selectmen, the town ballot fills the Moderator, the Board of Assessors, the Planning Board, the Constable, the Library Trustees, and Tolland’s seat on the regional School Committee, so the working government here is a web of elected seats rather than one org chart, and a resident can run for them.
- Boards and commissions, permanent and appointed, are named by the Board of Selectmen and decide questions like conservation, zoning appeals, and public health.
Contact & Engage
- Town offices: Tolland Town Hall, 241 West Granville Road, with public office hours Monday through Wednesday, 9:00 to 4:00.
- Selectmen’s office: 413-258-4794 Ext. 101, and the board’s page at tolland-ma.gov.
- Report a problem: potholes, broken signs, and plowing go to the Department of Public Works, 413-258-4531.
- Show up: the board meets on Monday evenings 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.