Town Edition
Worcester County
Westborough, Massachusetts
Photo: Daderot, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons.
Westborough voters had to say yes twice to tax themselves. On March 19, 2022, Article 23 at Annual Town Meeting accepted the Community Preservation Act. On November 8, 2022, the ballot approved it. Only then did the 0.5 percent surcharge on every property bill become real, and it now pays for open space, historic buildings, parks and affordable housing. That is the shape of power here: the big decisions have to win in a hall where every registered voter can stand up and speak, and often at a ballot box every registered voter can mark. Then look at the most recent town election. On March 10, 2026, 478 people filled the Select Board, the School Committee, the Planning Board, the Library Trustees, the Housing Authority, the Moderator’s chair and the office of Town Clerk. Those 478 ballots decided all of it, which tells you exactly what one more voter in that room is worth. This guide shows you where the rooms are and how to get into them.
Westborough at a Glance
Sources: Massachusetts DESE, district profile · US Census Bureau (data.census.gov).
- County: Worcester. Westborough covers 20.6 square miles of land, and the town describes itself in its own budget documents as a technological center along the Route 495 and Massachusetts Turnpike corridor. Route 9, the old Boston to Worcester turnpike, still runs through it.
- Government: open Town Meeting, with an elected five-member Select Board and an appointed Town Manager, Kristi Williams
- Schools: Westborough Public Schools, about 3,649 students across six schools, led by Superintendent Allison F. Borchers.
How Westborough’s Government Works
Westborough runs on an open Town Meeting, which means there are no elected Town Meeting members at all: every registered voter in Westborough is a member, and any of them can walk in, speak, and vote on the budget. Voters also elect a 5 member Select Board to set policy between meetings and the School Committee that oversees the schools. The Select Board hires a professional Town Manager to run the town day to day. So the money is voted by whoever shows up, the direction is set by the Select Board, and the daily work is carried out by the Town Manager.
Town Meeting
The legislative body, and it is not a committee. Every registered voter in Westborough is a member. Town Meeting adopts the annual budget, passes town bylaws, and approves major spending. This is direct democracy in its literal sense.
Select Board
5 members elected town-wide. They set policy, sign the warrants that decide what reaches Town Meeting, appoint residents to many town boards, and hire and supervise the Town Manager.
Town Manager
The appointed chief administrator. Runs the departments, builds the budget, and answers to the Select Board. Hired under contract, not elected.
School Committee
5 members, elected by the voters of the district the schools serve. It sets school policy, approves the school budget, and hires the Superintendent.
- Residents elect the 5 members of the Select Board and the School Committee.
- The Select Board hires the Town Manager and decides what goes on the Town Meeting warrant.
- Town Meeting votes the budget and the bylaws, and every registered voter present can vote.
- You take part: register at 16, vote at 18, and once you are registered you are already a member of Town Meeting.
Civic Calendar
- Select Board: meets at 6pm on the second and fourth Tuesday of each month in Veterans Memorial Hall at Westborough Town Hall, 34 West Main Street. Each agenda is posted in advance on the town’s Agenda Center, so check it before you go.
- Town Meeting: the Annual Town Meeting is held in the spring, and the town can call a Special Town Meeting when business cannot wait. The Moderator, John E. Arnold, presides.
- Town elections: Westborough votes in March, across six precincts. The 2026 Annual Town Election was held on Tuesday, March 10. The next is in spring 2027.
- State and federal elections: even-numbered years. The 2026 primary and general are this fall.
Explore the Westborough Edition
- Town Manager’s OfficeThe town’s chief administrator
- Select BoardYour five board members
- School CommitteeSuperintendent & committee
- Town DepartmentsWho does what at Town Hall
- Boards & CommissionsWhere residents serve
- LegislatorsYour voice in Boston & D.C.
- Westborough History1717, the rail, and the charter
- DemographicsWho lives in Westborough
- Non-ProfitsCommunity organizations
- Student DataWestborough schools by the numbers
Your County Officials
Two of the people with the most direct power over your life are elected countywide. The district attorney decides who gets charged with a crime, and what they get charged with. The sheriff runs the county jail. Both of them answer to the voters of Worcester County, and that includes Westborough. They appear on your ballot. Now you know what to look for.
Every county in Massachusetts elects its own, and the job is the same everywhere: the charging decisions, the jail. Look up any town in the state and see who holds these two offices there.
Your First Civic Action in Westborough
You do not have to wait until you can vote to be heard in your own town. Here is how to take a real concern to the people who decide.
- Pick the right body. Town policy, roads, and police or fire go to the Select Board. Schools go to the School Committee. The budget and bylaws are voted by Town Meeting.
- Find the meeting. The Select Board meets at 6pm on the second and fourth Tuesday of each month at Westborough Town Hall, 34 West Main Street, and the agenda is posted in advance on the town’s Agenda Center.
- Know your members. Five Select Board members are elected town-wide, so every one of them answers to you.
- Speak. Meetings are open to the public and residents may address the board. Check the agenda for how to sign up.
- Or skip the trip. Report a pothole, a broken light, or a missed pickup to the Department of Public Works, which is the department that owns the repair.
- Town Hall: 34 West Main Street, Westborough, MA 01581. Main line 508-871-5100, Select Board and Town Manager’s office 508-366-3030.
- Town Clerk & agendas: 508-366-3020, with meeting agendas and minutes posted at http://www.westboroughma.gov.
- Public schools: Westborough Public Schools, 508-836-7700, http://www.westboroughk12.org.
Local government works best when residents show up. Find your Select Board, speak at a meeting on the town’s published calendar, or simply register to vote and take your seat at Town Meeting.