Town Leadership
The Town Manager’s Office
The Town Manager
Kristen Las
When a road goes unplowed or a permit stalls, the person with the most operational control over the response is appointed, not elected. Kristen Las is the Town Manager, hired by the five elected members of the Select Board, and she serves at their pleasure. The office she holds is not the same as the Town Administrator most Massachusetts towns have, and the difference is written into Westford’s own charter. Section 9 of the Westford Home Rule Charter Act gives the Town Manager the appointment of all department heads, on merit and fitness alone. It names her the appointing authority for the Police Chief and the Fire Chief, subject to confirmation by the Select Board. It makes the Town Clerk and the Treasurer-Collector appointed offices rather than elected ones. Section 11 puts the annual operating budget and the five year capital plan on her desk to build, and section 13 says it plainly: the annual budget shall be developed by the town manager under the overall policy direction of the select board. So the plan to fix a problem usually starts here, then goes to the board, and then to the room where every registered voter can vote it down.
| Role | Town Manager (chief administrative officer) |
|---|---|
| Selection | Appointed by the Select Board and serving at its pleasure, not elected |
| Office | Town Hall, 55 Main Street, Westford, MA 01886 |
| Phone | 978-692-5501 |
| Website | westfordma.gov |
What the Town Manager Does
- Appoints the department heads. Charter section 9 gives the Town Manager the appointment of all department heads and their staff, on merit and fitness alone. The Police Chief and the Fire Chief are hers to appoint with the Select Board’s confirmation. This is the power a Town Administrator in most Massachusetts towns does not hold, and it is why the office is called Manager here.
- Builds the budget. Each year the Town Manager prepares and submits the operating budget and the capital improvements program, keeps a five year financial forecast, approves the warrants that pay the town’s bills, and approves the award of town contracts, with the Select Board’s approval.
- Answers to the board. The Town Manager is the agent of the Select Board, works under its policy direction, and serves at its pleasure.
- Answers to you, at Town Meeting. Charter section 12 requires the Town Manager to attend every session of Town Meeting and to answer every question addressed to her about the warrant articles. If you are registered, you can be the one asking.
What the Charter Splits Between Them
Westford has been governed under a Select Board and Town Manager form since the Legislature enacted its charter in 1989, and the town amended it in 2020. 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 chief policy making board. It appoints the Town Manager, appoints Town Counsel, the Conservation Commission, the Board of Appeals and every board the charter does not hand to the manager, and it signs the warrant that decides what Town Meeting gets to vote on.
- The Town Manager runs everything the charter gives her: the departments and their heads, the budget, the purchasing, the personnel policies and the labor contracts, and with the board’s approval she may reorganize a department outright.
Here is that relationship in one visible act. At the reorganization meeting of May 11, 2026, it was the Town Manager who opened the floor for nominations for Select Board Chair, and who stepped back the moment a chair was seated. The manager runs the meeting until the board can run itself, and then she works for it.
Contact & Engage
- Town Hall: 55 Main Street, Westford, MA 01886. Open Monday, Wednesday and Thursday 8AM to 4PM, Tuesday 8AM to 6:30PM, and Friday 8AM to 1PM.
- Town Manager’s Office: 978-692-5501.
- Report a problem: potholes, broken lights, water and snow go to the Department of Public Works at 978-692-5520.
- Show up: the Select Board meets on its published calendar 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.