Town Leadership
The Town Administrator’s Office
The Town Administrator
James A. Johnson
When the snow does not get plowed or a water main lets go, the person with the most operational control over the response is appointed, not elected. James A. Johnson is Walpole’s Town Administrator, and the charter makes him the chief administrative officer of the town, serving under the general direction of the five elected members of the Select Board. He came to the job the way most professional managers do: he ran a smaller town first, then served as Walpole’s interim administrator starting in July 2014, and the Select Board hired him for the permanent post in early 2015. He has held it ever since.
The mechanics of the office matter more than the title. The departments that touch your day, public works, recreation, health, the library, report up through the Administrator’s office, and the Select Board’s charter power to appoint the department heads that matter most, the Town Administrator, the Town Clerk, and the police and fire chiefs, means the board picks the people and the Administrator runs the operation. Each winter his office assembles the annual budget: department requests come in, the Administrator shapes them into a plan, the fifteen-member Finance Committee picks it apart line by line and publishes its recommendations, and then the 150 elected Town Meeting Representatives cast the votes that actually spend the money. The Administrator can propose; only Town Meeting can appropriate.
That split is where a resident’s hand fits. A problem with a service, a missed pickup, a dangerous intersection, goes to the Administrator’s office first, because his departments own the fix. A disagreement about policy or spending goes to the Select Board, which sets his direction and can replace him, or to Town Meeting, which controls every dollar he gets to manage. Knowing which door to knock on is most of the game, and this page is the map.
| Role | Town Administrator (chief administrative officer) |
|---|---|
| Selection | Appointed by the Select Board under contract, not elected |
| Office | Town Hall, 135 School Street, Walpole, MA 02081 |
| Phone | 508-660-7304 |
| Website | walpole-ma.gov/town-administrator |
What the Town Administrator Does
- Runs the operation. The working departments, from public works to recreation, answer up through the Administrator’s office day to day.
- Builds the budget. Each year the Administrator assembles the town’s spending plan, which the Finance Committee reviews and the representative Town Meeting votes.
- Answers to the board. The Administrator serves under the general direction 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 the 150 Town Meeting Representatives elected from the precincts.
The Administration
- The Select Board holds the executive authority: it appoints the Town Administrator, the Town Clerk, and the police and fire chiefs, sets policy, and signs the warrants that put questions before Town Meeting.
- Department heads carry out policy, from plowing snow to inspecting restaurants. The Departments page lists who runs what.
- Boards and commissions, many appointed by the Select Board and three appointed by the Town Moderator, decide questions like zoning, conservation, and the budget recommendation.
Contact & Engage
- Town Hall: 135 School Street, Walpole, MA 02081.
- Town Administrator’s Office: 508-660-7304. Assistant Town Administrator: 508-660-7288.
- Report a problem: potholes, broken lights, and missed pickups go to the department that owns the repair; the Departments page has the directory.
- Show up: the Select Board posts its meeting agendas on the town website, and the public is welcome.
Want to weigh in on a town decision? Learn how to contact your officials so they actually hear you.