Town Leadership
The Williamstown Town Manager’s Office
The Town Manager
Robert Menicocci
When a road goes unplowed or a permit stalls, the person with the most operational control over the response is appointed, not elected. Robert Menicocci is the Town Manager, hired by the five elected members of the Select Board, and he serves at their pleasure. Williamstown is a strong Town Manager town, and the reason is written into its own charter, a special act first adopted in 1956 and amended by the Legislature as recently as 2024. The charter hands the Town Manager the authority to appoint and remove most town officers, including the Chief of Police, to prepare the annual budget, to draw up the warrants that the town pays its bills on, and to run the general financial affairs of the town. One thing is deliberately not his: the Fire Department is run by a separate Williamstown Fire District with its own elected board, so the fire chief is outside his appointment power. So the plan to fix a town problem usually starts on the manager’s desk, goes to the Select Board that hired him for policy direction, and then, when it is a matter of money or bylaw, to the Town Meeting where every registered voter can vote it up or down.
| Role | Town Manager (chief administrative officer) |
|---|---|
| Selection | Appointed by the Select Board and serving at its pleasure, not elected |
| Office | Town Hall, 31 North Street, First Floor, Williamstown, MA 01267 |
| Phone | (413) 597-8321 |
| Website | williamstownma.gov |
What the Town Manager Does
- Appoints most town officers. The charter gives the Town Manager the authority to appoint and remove most town officers, the Chief of Police among them. That is the power a Town Administrator in many Massachusetts towns does not hold, and it is why the office is called Manager here. The fire chief is the exception, because the Fire Department belongs to a separate fire district with its own elected board.
- Builds the budget. Each year the Town Manager prepares the operating budget, draws up the warrants the town pays its bills on, and runs the town’s general financial affairs, all under the Select Board’s policy direction.
- Answers to the board. The Town Manager is hired by the Select Board, works under its policy direction, and serves at its pleasure, so the board can replace him.
- Answers to Town Meeting. The money the manager spends and the bylaws the town runs on are voted at Town Meeting, where every registered voter is a member. If you are registered, you can be the one asking the questions.
What the Charter Splits Between Them
Williamstown has been governed under a Select Board and Town Manager form since the Legislature enacted its charter in 1956, and the town has amended it since, most recently in 2024. The charter divides the work, and knowing who appoints whom is worth doing before you decide whom to write to. Appointing power in this town is split three ways, which is unusual and worth knowing.
- 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 town’s executive leadership. It appoints the Town Manager, signs the warrant that decides what Town Meeting votes on, and appoints a set of bodies of its own, including the Community Preservation Committee, the Affordable Housing Trust and the Board of Registrars.
- The Town Manager appoints most town officers and department heads, including the Board of Assessors, the Board of Health, the Conservation Commission and the Council on Aging board, and runs the departments, the budget and the town’s financial affairs day to day.
- The Town Moderator appoints the Finance Committee, the volunteer board that reviews the budget before Town Meeting votes it. That one appointment sits with neither the board nor the manager, and it is a deliberate check.
Contact & Engage
- Town Hall: 31 North Street, Williamstown, MA 01267. Check williamstownma.gov for current hours.
- Town Manager’s Office: (413) 597-8321.
- Report a problem: potholes, water, and snow go to the Department of Public Works at (413) 597-8363, at 675 Simonds Road.
- Show up: the Select Board meets most Monday evenings 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.