Town Government
Boards & Commissions
What Boards & Commissions Are
Westport lists more than thirty boards and committees beyond the Select Board and the School Committee, and that is where a great deal of the town’s governing actually happens. They approve subdivisions, hear zoning appeals, rule on work near the Westport River and the coast, decide how Community Preservation money is spent, and guide services for older residents. They are the rooms where an ordinary resident can have the most direct hand in a decision.
Some are elected on the April ballot and some are appointed by the Select Board, and they serve fixed terms. The meetings are public, and seats open up regularly.
Elected on the Town Ballot
The April 14, 2026 ballot filled seats on eleven town bodies, not counting the Select Board and School Committee: the Board of Assessors, the Board of Health, the Planning Board, the Housing Authority (two separate terms), the Library Trustees, the Landing Commission, the Fish Commission, the Commissioners of Trust Funds, the office of Constable, and Westport’s seat on a regional school committee. Several of those races were contested.
- Planning Board reviews subdivisions, site plans and major development. It meets in the Annex Meeting Room, and from September 1, 2026 it starts at 4:00 pm.
- Board of Health oversees inspections, septic rules and public health regulations, and meets every other Monday at 4:00 pm in the Annex.
- Board of Assessors sets the values that produce your property tax bill, and hears abatement requests.
- Library Trustees govern the Westport Free Public Library.
Appointed Boards Worth Knowing
- Zoning Board of Appeals hears variances and special permits.
- Conservation Commission, which also sits as the Soil Conservation Board, issues orders of conditions for work near wetlands and the coast.
- Finance Committee reviews the budget and makes recommendations to Town Meeting.
- Community Preservation Committee recommends how the town’s Community Preservation money is spent. Westport adopted the Community Preservation Act in 2002, and in May 2026 Town Meeting approved $1.534 million of it across eleven projects.
- Affordable Housing Trust Fund, set up in 2010, which received $300,000 of that Community Preservation money.
- Agricultural Commission, which matters in a Right to Farm town with working farms in every village.
For the full roster, current members, vacancies and schedules, see the town’s own Boards & Committees listing.
How to Serve
- Find an opening on the town’s Boards & Committees page, or ask the Select Board office which seats are vacant.
- Submit a letter of interest to the Select Board office at Town Hall.
- Interview if asked, and await appointment by the Select Board.
- Or run. Several of these seats are elected in April, and nomination papers come out from the Town Clerk months ahead of the ballot.
Serving on a board is one of the most direct ways to shape Westport.