~10 min read
Marblehead is run by two parallel administrations, overseen by elected boards, all answerable to the town's registered voters.
State law makes the school committee an independent employer, so the town and schools each run their own administrative operation. The town side is grouped into five functional clusters; schools have a leaner two-cluster structure (Central Office + Buildings) because they serve a single mission. The boxes below are point-in-time as of 2026-06-14. Click a department to see the named roles beneath the head. FTE figures are mostly FY26 headcount (includes part-time) where granular FTE is not published; hover the count for the basis.
Chief Administrative Officer; appointed by the Select Board. Oversees daily operations of building inspections, community development & planning, council on aging, finance, fire, harbormaster, human resources, police, public works, public buildings, and veterans services.
Finance Director also serves as Chief Financial Officer; the town has no dedicated IT department, so IT effectively reports through Finance.
Assessing operations roll up under the Finance Director / CFO in the Financial Services Department. The elected three-member Board of Assessors sets policy; see Boards section.
Town Clerk is an elected position (3-year term). Elections are administered by the Town Clerk's office; ~25 poll workers are paid during election cycles but are not year-round staff.
Department created January 2024 (first HR director in town history; previously HR was handled informally out of the Select Board office).
Administrative office that supports the five elected Select Board members. The Town Administrator is also organizationally housed here, along with the town's Chief Procurement Officer and Administrative Aide.
Reports jointly to the Town Administrator and the appointed Harbors & Waters Board.
Building Commissioner doubles as Superintendent of Public Buildings (per Annual Report 2025 appointed officials). The remaining headcount on this line is custodial / maintenance staff not named individually in primary sources.
Water and Sewer share the same elected commission (Board of Water & Sewer Commissioners, 5 members, 3-year staggered terms) and a combined office and field-support staff under a single administration line.
Office and administrative staff are shared with the Water Department under the joint Water & Sewer Commission office; see the Water Department entry for that shared list.
Superintendent is appointed by the elected Cemetery Commission (3 members, 3-year staggered terms). FY26 headcount line of 9 includes seasonal labor not named individually.
Department created at May 2024 Town Meeting; the FY27 proposed budget reduces this line by 58.8% and eliminates the Director and Grant Coordinator positions. As of the snapshot date, the department page still lists those roles.
The Board of Health also oversees the Transfer Station, which has its own crew (Assistant Waste Director, Heavy Equipment Operators, Special Clerk, Transfer Station Operators).
Single-position office. The Veterans' Agent also serves as the town's Flag Officer and Veterans' Graves Officer per Annual Report 2025 appointed officials.
Library is governed by an elected six-member Board of Trustees, separate from the Select Board's appointed boards.
The Superintendent is appointed annually by the elected Recreation & Parks Commission (5 members, 1-year terms).
District total FTE (all roles, all buildings): 430.2 in SY2026 per DESE EPIMS (data/dese_total_educator_fte.csv).
Director of Facilities position was listed as TBD on the Administration page as of June 2026.
Bell, Coffin, Eveleth, and Gerry are former elementary buildings, no longer operating as schools. Marblehead currently operates three elementary buildings: Brown, Glover, and Village.
Every administrator on the chart above answers to one or more elected or appointed boards. Three of them – Select Board, School Committee, and Finance Committee – drive the override debate and the overall budget. The rest set policy in their own domains.
Sets town policy, signs the warrant for Town Meeting, hires and evaluates the Town Administrator, makes most non-school appointments to boards and committees, and represents the town in intergovernmental matters.
Hires and evaluates the Superintendent, sets school district policy, votes the school operating budget request that goes to Town Meeting, and acts as the employer of record for collective bargaining with teacher and staff unions. Under MGL c.71 sec.34 the committee controls expenditures within the appropriated lump sum.
Reviews all town department budgets and warrant articles requiring town funds, holds public hearings, and publishes written recommendations (favor / opposed / table) to Town Meeting voters. Functions in an advisory capacity for all financial matters.
In many Massachusetts towns the Finance Committee is appointed by the Town Moderator. In Marblehead it is appointed by the Select Board, per the Finance Committee's official page and consistent with recent Select Board minutes that record FinCom appointments.
Presides over Annual and Special Town Meetings, decides questions of order, and declares votes. May appoint residents to special committees at the request of Town Meeting.
Custodian of town records, conducts town elections, certifies votes, records vital statistics, and prepares the ballot for town elections.
Approves land divisions, nonresidential buildings over 700 sq ft, residential construction over 500 sq ft in shoreline/harbor districts, smart growth special permits, wireless communication special permits, and incentive zoning special permits.
Enforces state and local health regulations, licenses food establishments, oversees septic and tobacco regulations, and responds to public health emergencies.
Sets and certifies property valuations, classifies real and personal property, and rules on abatement applications.
Hears variance requests, special permit applications, and appeals of Building Commissioner decisions. May grant relief only when proposed changes will not adversely affect the neighborhood.
Manages and protects town conservation lands and administers wetlands protection laws and stormwater guidelines for construction projects affecting wetlands.
Identifies, evaluates, and protects historic resources; reviews demolition requests under the town's demolition delay bylaw; nominates properties to historic registers.
Oversees the Recreation & Parks Department, appoints the Superintendent annually, sets fees and policies for town recreation programs and park use.
Oversees town cemeteries, sets policies for burials and lot sales, and appoints the Cemetery Superintendent.
Governs the Marblehead Municipal Light Department; sets electric rates, approves the MMLD budget, and oversees long-range planning for the town's municipal electric utility.
Governs the Water and Sewer departments; sets water and sewer rates, approves capital projects, and protects the public water distribution system.
Sets library policy, hires the Library Director, approves the library budget and oversees library operations and the trust funds that support the library.
Recommends and implements programs for the efficient and equitable utilization of Marblehead's harbors and public waterfront areas. The Harbormaster reports to this board and to the Town Administrator.
Advises the Council on Aging department on programs and policies serving Marblehead residents age 55 and older.
The voters of Marblehead elect the boards, fund the budget, and have the last word on overrides and bylaws. Here are the levers, plainly.
This page is a point-in-time snapshot as of 2026-06-14 and will go stale after the next May election.