Guide to Hopkinton Town Government

Hopkinton is a growing community of roughly 18,000 residents in Middlesex County, Massachusetts — and, like most Massachusetts towns, it governs itself through a system refined over centuries. If you’re a new resident trying to make sense of who runs what, this guide breaks it all down. If you’re a longtime resident looking to get more involved, you’ll find the paths to participation here, too.

The Big Picture: How Hopkinton’s Government Works

Hopkinton operates under a Town Manager/Select Board/Open Town Meeting form of government. There is no mayor. Instead, three distinct branches share power:

• Town Meeting — the legislative branch, made up of all registered voters
• Select Board — the elected executive board and primary policymaker
• Town Manager — the professional administrator who runs day-to-day operations

This structure is common across Massachusetts and keeps governance close to residents, but it requires residents to be engaged participants to function well.

HopNews town government coverage is available here.

The Select Board

The Select Board is the town’s elected executive body. Five members serve three-year staggered terms, meaning not all seats are up for election at once. They are elected at the Annual Town Election each May.

The Select Board’s core responsibilities include:

• Setting broad policy direction for the town
• Appointing the Town Manager and evaluating their performance
• Adopting and submitting the town budget to Town Meeting
• Creating and overseeing many of the town’s boards and committees
• Licensing businesses (including alcohol licenses)
• Calling Town Meetings by issuing the official warrant

The Board meets regularly — typically twice a month — at Town Hall, 18 Main Street. Meetings are open to the public, broadcast on HCAM (the local access channel), and archived online.

The Board holds meetings in a hybrid format (in person and remotely). The 2026 Annual Town Meeting (ATM) was held on a Saturday to increase attendance. Unfortunately, attendance was lower than usual. The ATM adjourned early due to the lack of a quorum.

The Town Manager

The Select Board appoints a professional Town Manager to handle the day-to-day administration of Hopkinton. The Town Manager is the chief operating officer of the town, with broad authority over municipal departments.

The Town Manager:

• Hires and manages department heads (finance, public works, police, fire, and more)
• Prepares the annual operating budget
• Oversees about 28 appointed boards and commissions
• Serves as the point of contact between the Select Board and town staff

Current Town Manager: Elaine Lazarus (as of 2026). The Town Manager’s office is at 18 Main Street; the main line is 508-497-9701.

Town Meeting: Hopkinton’s Legislative Branch

In Hopkinton, every registered voter is a member of Town Meeting — this is called an Open Town Meeting, the most direct form of democratic governance in the United States. Town Meeting is not a body of elected representatives; it is the full electorate, and anyone registered to vote in Hopkinton may attend, speak, and vote.

What Town Meeting Does

Town Meeting has the final word on three big categories:

1. Appropriations — approving the town’s annual budget, capital projects, and special spending
2. Bylaws — adopting and amending local laws and regulations (including zoning)
3. Salaries — setting compensation for elected officials

A simple majority passes most articles. Some items — like land purchases by eminent domain — require a two-thirds supermajority.

Annual Town Meeting

The Annual Town Meeting is held each spring, typically in May. Notably, Hopkinton tried a Saturday format for the first time to encourage broader participation.

The ATM works through a printed warrant, a list of articles submitted by the Select Board, School Committee, other boards, or by citizen petition.

Special Town Meetings

The Select Board may call a Special Town Meeting (STM) when urgent business arises between annual meetings. In recent years, Hopkinton held STMs in 2023 and 2024 to address the Elmwood School replacement project and MBTA Communities zoning compliance, respectively.

The Warrant and How to Add an Article

Any registered voter can petition to add an article to the Town Meeting warrant by collecting signatures — typically 10 registered voters for most articles, or the number specified in the town bylaws. Petitions must be submitted to the Town Clerk by the deadline stated in the official warrant notice.

The School Committee

The School Committee is a separate, independently elected five-member board that governs the public school district. It is not subordinate to the Select Board. Its responsibilities include:

• Hiring and evaluating the Superintendent of Schools
• Adopting the school district’s annual budget
• Setting educational policy and goals
• Reviewing MCAS results, academic programs, and capital building projects

School Committee members serve three-year staggered terms and are elected at the Annual Town Election. The Committee meets every other Thursday at 7:00 p.m., typically at the HCAM Studio at 77 Main Street.

Key Appointed Boards and Commissions

Beyond the Select Board and School Committee, Hopkinton has more than 40 appointed and elected boards and commissions. Here are the most consequential ones:

Planning Board

The Planning Board reviews and approves large-scale land use proposals, subdivision plans, and site plans. It also recommends zoning bylaw changes to Town Meeting. The Planning Board meets monthly (typically on Monday evenings) and is central to any major development proposal.

Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA)

The ZBA handles variance requests, special permits, and appeals of the Building Department’s decisions. If a property owner wants to do something that doesn’t strictly comply with the zoning bylaw, the ZBA is usually the first stop.

Conservation Commission

Hopkinton has significant wetland resources, and the Conservation Commission enforces the Massachusetts Wetlands Protection Act and local bylaws. Any project near wetlands, streams, or floodplains requires a filing with the Conservation Commission before work begins.

Board of Health

The Board of Health sets and enforces local public health regulations — food safety inspections, septic system permits, communicable disease response, and more. It also appoints the Public Health Director.

Appropriations Committee

Capital Improvement Committee

This Committee currently operates under a by-law adopted by Town Meeting in 1995. Its purpose is to deliberate and make recommendations on capital expenditure projections of the Town for five-year, ten-year, and longer periods.

Five members, registered voters of the Town, are appointed: two (2) by the Moderator and three (3) by the Board of Selectmen, for staggered five (5) year terms. No one can be appointed to the Committee who is a Town Official (elected or appointed), or a Town employee.

Full details concerning the Capital Improvement Committee can be found in the Town By-Laws.

Capitol Improvements Committee information page.

Community Preservation Committee (CPC)

The CPC administers funds collected under the Massachusetts Community Preservation Act, which Hopkinton adopted by vote. A small surcharge on property taxes funds open space preservation, historic preservation, affordable housing, and recreation. Residents can apply to the CPC for project funding.

Other Boards and Commissions

How Residents Can Participate

Attend Meetings

All board and committee meetings are open to the public unless in executive session. Many are also streamed or recorded by HCAM. Most include a public comment period at the start or end.

Speak at Public Comment

At Select Board meetings and most other board meetings, residents may sign up to speak during the public comment period. Written comments submitted before the meeting are often entered into the official record.

Vote at Town Meeting

The most direct way to shape local policy is to show up at Town Meeting and vote. You must be a registered voter in Hopkinton. No proxy voting — you must appear in person.

Submit a Citizens’ Petition

To add an article to the Town Meeting warrant, collect the required number of voter signatures (check with the Town Clerk for current requirements) and submit by the published deadline.

Run for Office

Elected positions include: Select Board (5 members), School Committee (5 members), Board of Assessors, Board of Library Trustees, Housing Authority, Planning Board, Moderator, and Town Clerk. To get on the ballot, obtain nomination papers from the Town Clerk’s office (18 Main Street), collect at least 50 certified signatures from registered Hopkinton voters, and return by the filing deadline — typically late March for the May town election.

Apply for a Board or Committee Appointment

Most boards have member vacancies at some point. The Select Board periodically posts open seats. Contact the Town Manager’s office or the Select Board office to express interest.

Where to Find Agendas, Minutes, and Meeting Packets

• Town website: hopkintonma.gov — Click on any board or committee page to find upcoming agendas and posted packets.
• Google Groups: The town posts Select Board agenda packets and notices to a public Google Group. Search for “hopkintonma.gov” in Google Groups.
• HCAM: hcam.tv — Hopkinton’s local access channel records and archives most public meetings.
• eHop: ehop.org — A community information site that aggregates meeting notices and local news.
• Town Clerk’s office: 18 Main Street — for official records, warrants, minutes, and election information. Phone: 508-497-9710.

Quick Reference: Key Contacts

Bookmark this guide and follow our town government coverage on HopNews for the latest on Select Board meetings, Town Meeting warrant articles, and the boards and commissions shaping Hopkinton’s future.