Town Leadership
The Town Administrator’s Office
The Town Administrator
Thomas Bernard
When a road goes unplowed or a water main breaks in Haydenville, the person with the most operational control over the response is appointed, not elected. Thomas Bernard is the Town Administrator, hired by the three elected members of the Select Board to run Williamsburg day to day, and they can let him go if they lose confidence in him. He began the job on April 6, 2026, after a unanimous Select Board vote picked him from a field of eighteen candidates, and he serves a three-year contract. He is the chief administrative officer: he helps appoint and supervise department heads, shapes and presents the annual budget, and carries the town’s major spending requests to Town Meeting for the final vote.
Bernard came to the office with a public-service resume. He served two terms as mayor of North Adams, from 2017 through 2021, and then led Berkshire United Way as its president and chief executive until July 2025. Because Williamsburg hands its daily machinery to an appointed administrator rather than an elected mayor, the plan to fix a problem usually crosses his desk first, then goes to the Select Board, and finally to Town Meeting, where the registered voters in the hall hold the last word. That division is the point worth remembering: the Administrator proposes and runs, the Select Board directs and hires, and Town Meeting decides.
| Role | Town Administrator (chief administrative officer) |
|---|---|
| Selection | Appointed by the Select Board under a three-year contract, not elected |
| Office | Town Offices, 141 Main Street, PO Box 447, Haydenville, MA 01039 |
| Phone | 413-268-8418 |
| Website | burgy.org/administrator |
What the Town Administrator Does
- Runs the departments. Police, fire, highway, health, the library, and the rest answer to the Town Administrator, who helps appoint and supervise their leaders.
- Builds the budget. Each year the Administrator proposes how the town will spend its money, then defends that plan before the Select Board and Town Meeting, which holds the final vote.
- Answers to the board. The Administrator serves at the pleasure of the elected Select Board and carries out the policies it sets.
- Reports to Town Meeting. Major spending and bylaws still need the vote of Town Meeting, and in Williamsburg that means every registered voter who walks in.
The Administration
- Department heads carry out policy, from plowing snow to inspecting restaurants.
- The Select Board is the check: it hires and can dismiss the Administrator, sets policy, and signs the warrants that put questions before Town Meeting.
- Boards and commissions, many of them appointed by the Select Board, decide questions like zoning, conservation, and licensing.
Contact & Engage
- Town Offices: 141 Main Street, Haydenville, MA 01039, open Monday through Thursday.
- Town Administrator’s Office: 413-268-8418, townadmin@burgy.org.
- Report a problem: potholes, downed limbs, and plowing go to the Highway Department.
- Show up: the Select Board meets on alternating Tuesdays at the Town Offices, and the public is welcome.
Want to weigh in on a town decision? Learn how to contact your officials so they actually hear you.