Town Leadership
The Town Administrator’s Office
The Town Administrator
Kieran Meehan
When a road goes unplowed or a water main breaks on Main Street, the person with the most operational control over the response is appointed, not elected. Kieran Meehan is the Town Administrator, hired by the five elected members of the Select Board to run the town day to day, and the board can let him go if it loses faith in him. He is the chief administrative officer of Townsend. He proposes and manages the annual budget, oversees the department heads, negotiates contracts, and carries the town’s major spending requests to Town Meeting for the final vote. The office sits on the Upper Level of Town Hall, where a resident can bring a problem that has outgrown a single department.
Here is the split worth learning, because it explains almost every decision in town. The Select Board decides WHAT the town will do: it sets policy, signs the warrant, and answers to voters at the ballot box. The Town Administrator decides HOW it gets done: which contractor, which schedule, which line of the budget. When the two disagree, the board wins, because the board hired the administrator and can replace him. And when a plan needs real money or a new bylaw, neither of them has the last word. That belongs to Town Meeting, where every registered voter who walks in is a member. So a good idea in Townsend usually travels the same route: it starts as a problem on the administrator’s desk, becomes a policy the Select Board adopts, and finishes as an article the whole town votes on. Knowing that route is how you find the exact point where your voice counts.
| Role | Town Administrator (chief administrative officer) |
|---|---|
| Selection | Appointed by the Select Board under contract, not elected |
| Office | Town Hall, Upper Level, 272 Main Street, Townsend, MA 01469 |
| Phone | (978) 597-1700 ext. 1701 |
| Website | townsendma.gov |
What the Town Administrator Does
- Runs the departments. Police, fire, highway, health, recreation, and the rest report up through the Town Administrator, who oversees their day-to-day operations.
- 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 Townsend that means every registered voter who walks in.
The Administration
- Department heads carry out policy, from plowing snow to inspecting restaurants, and report through the Town Administrator.
- The Select Board is the check: it hires and can dismiss 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 Hall: 272 Main Street, Townsend, MA 01469.
- Town Administrator’s Office: (978) 597-1700 ext. 1701.
- Report a problem: potholes, downed limbs, and road issues go to the Highway Department.
- Show up: the Select Board meets the first and third Tuesday of the month 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.