Town Government
Boards & Commissions
What Boards & Commissions Are
Beyond the Select Board and the School Committee, much of Wareham’s governing happens on volunteer boards and commissions. They approve new development, hear zoning appeals, protect the wetlands and the harbor, decide how Community Preservation money is spent, and guide services for residents. They are the rooms where an ordinary resident can have the most direct hand in a decision.
Wareham fills them three different ways, and the charter says which is which. Some are ELECTED at the town election: the Board of Assessors, the Board of Sewer Commissioners and the Housing Authority, alongside the Select Board, the School Committee and the Moderator. Most of the rest are APPOINTED by the Select Board, which also appoints the Registrar of Voters and the Board of Health. And three committees whose job is to advise Town Meeting are appointed by a small Appointing Authority chaired by the Town Moderator, not by the Select Board at all. Meetings are public, and seats open up regularly.
Key Boards & Commissions
- Finance Committee reviews and studies every article in the Town Meeting warrant, reports its recommendation on each one before the meeting, and must hold a public hearing on any article that would have the town borrow money. Appointed by the Moderator’s Appointing Authority.
- Planning Board, five members serving staggered three-year terms, reviews every warrant article touching land use, zoning and subdivision control and reports its recommendations to Town Meeting. Appointed by an Appointing Authority chaired by the Moderator.
- Capital Planning Committee, seven members including the Finance Director and the Town Administrator, reviews the capital spending articles and writes the town’s capital improvements program.
- Conservation Commission protects Wareham’s wetlands, rivers and open space, and issues the permits that go with them. Conservation Agent Christine Santos.
- Board of Health oversees inspections, clinics and public health rules. Appointed by the Select Board.
- Board of Assessors, five members elected to three-year terms, values every property in town, sets the annual tax rate with the state, and hears abatement applications.
- Community Preservation Committee recommends how the town spends its Community Preservation money on open space, historic preservation, recreation and affordable housing.
- Affordable Housing Trust and the Wareham Housing Authority work on housing. One Housing Authority seat is filled at the town election.
For the full roster, current members, vacancies and schedules, see wareham.gov.
How to Serve
- Find an opening. The town posts vacancies on its boards, committees and commissions, and the list is longer than most residents expect.
- Submit the committee application online or a letter of interest to the Select Board office at 508-291-3100, extension 3101.
- Come to the meeting. The Select Board interviews and votes on appointments in open session, and the vote is recorded by name in the minutes.
- Or run for one. The elected boards need 50 signatures from Wareham voters to get a name on the town election ballot. That is the whole barrier.
- Serve: attend the public meetings and help make decisions for your town.
Serving on a board is one of the most direct ways to shape Wareham.