Town Leadership
The Town Manager’s Office
The Town Manager
Sean Fitzgerald, Interim Town Manager
When a road goes unplowed or a permit stalls, the person with the most operational control over the response is appointed, not elected. That job is the Town Manager, created by West Newbury’s own special act, the Town Manager Act, Chapter 97 of the Acts of 2017. Right now it is held on an interim basis. West Newbury’s first Town Manager, Angus Jennings, served from 2018 until he resigned in 2026, and the Select Board brought in Sean Fitzgerald, a former Swampscott town administrator, to run the town day to day starting August 3, 2026, while it searches for a permanent hire. That search is worth watching, because choosing a chief executive is the clearest look you will ever get at where the power sits. The town’s own page describes the office plainly: the Town Manager is the chief operating, administrative and financial officer of the town, supervises all departments, and appoints and may remove all department heads, subject to ratification by the Select Board. So the plan to fix a problem usually starts in this office, then goes to the board, and then to the room where every registered voter can vote it down.
| Role | Town Manager (chief operating, administrative and financial officer) |
|---|---|
| Current holder | Sean Fitzgerald, serving on an interim basis since August 3, 2026 |
| Selection | Appointed by the Select Board and serving at its pleasure, not elected |
| Office | Town Hall, 381 Main Street, West Newbury, MA 01985 |
| Phone | 978-363-1100 ext. 1115 |
| Website | wnewbury.org |
What the Town Manager Does
- Runs the departments. The Town Manager supervises every town department and directs the day-to-day affairs of the town, and appoints and may remove all department heads, subject to ratification by the Select Board.
- Builds the budget. As the town’s chief financial officer, the Town Manager formulates the annual town budget, approves the warrants that pay the town’s bills, submits the town’s departmental and organizational structure each year, and recommends the salaries and pay rates for town employees.
- Manages the people and the property. The office directs the town’s human resources, personnel policies, employee evaluations, benefits and labor relations, and has jurisdiction over the rental of town facilities and real property. It also serves as the town’s public relations and communications officer.
- Answers to the board, and to you. The Town Manager works under the policy direction of the Select Board and serves at its pleasure. Its meetings, and the Town Meeting that votes the budget, are open to you.
What the Charter Splits Between Them
West Newbury adopted the Town Manager form by a special act of the Legislature, the Town Manager Act, Chapter 97 of the Acts of 2017. The act divides the work three ways, and the division is worth knowing before you decide whom to write to.
- Town Meeting holds the legislative power outright, which means the budget and the bylaws. Nothing in the manager’s authority reaches that.
- The Select Board is the executive board. It appoints the Town Manager, and it also appoints the Police Chief, Town Counsel, the Town Accountant and the auditor, and most members of the town’s other boards and committees. It reviews the budget the Town Manager prepares, and it signs the warrant that decides what Town Meeting gets to vote on.
- The Town Manager runs everything the charter gives the office: the departments and their heads, the budget, the purchasing, the personnel policies and the labor contracts.
Contact & Engage
- Town Hall: 381 Main Street, West Newbury, MA 01985.
- Town Manager’s Office: 978-363-1100 ext. 1115.
- Report a problem: potholes, broken lights, water and snow go to the Department of Public Works at 978-363-1100 ext. 1135.
- Show up: the Select Board meets every other Thursday evening 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.