Who Runs Milton

I got to thinking about this topic when I read the story about Philip Driscoll who won the Mayor of the Day contest. I thought it was a nice story but as I read further I learned that Milton never had a mayor. This was a very strange concept to me. Growing up in Boston, I always assumed that Milton was really just a part of Boston. I’m dating myself here but I recall thinking that Kevin White, the former Mayor of Boston, also governed the affairs of towns like Milton, Dedham, and similar surrounding communities. A naïve assumption on my part but not too surprising if you take into account that few schools actually teach or discuss local politics.

So for those of you who are new to community or have never given it much thought, I’ve prepared an outline of what I’ve learned.

Who Runs Milton:

The Board of Selectmen: These folks are the Chief Elected Officials and Executive Officers for the Town. To be a selectman, you have to be a resident of Milton and win an open election for one of the three spots on the Board. The affairs of the Board are open to the public. If you want to know more about what they do, you can sit in on one of their meetings. They meet the 1^st and 3^rd Thursday of each month in the Cronin Conference Room located in the Town Office Building. At the beginning of each meeting, there’s an opportunity for citizens to voice concerns. You can also watch the meetings on channel 8; the meetings begin at 6:30 PM. Maybe I’ll see you there.

Town Administrator: The Town Administrator has responsibility for overseeing the day-to-day operations of running Milton. He’s the Chief Administrative Officer for the town and works under the policy direction of the Board of Selectmen. He’s not an elected official, he’s appointed by the Board. Kevin J. Mearn is the current Town Administrator. His office, which is shared with the Board of Selectmen, is located on the second floor of the Town Office Building. If you have a comment or suggestion you would like to share with town officials, you can fill out the Citizens’ Comment Form located on the Town’s website.

Chief of Police:  Let’s face it; at some point in our lives, we’ll all have some type of interaction with the police. Let’s hope that interaction is a positive one. The Chief of Police for Milton is Richard G. Wells Jr. Wells was appointed Chief in 2007 by the Board of Selectmen when Kevin Mearns left the position to become Town Administrator. Wells’ father, Richard Sr., actually served as Chief of Police from 1988 to 1992. If you need to contact the Milton Police for non-emergencies, call (617) 698-3800. The station is located at 40 Highland Street. If you need to drop a dime (that’s what we use to call it back in the day) on some illegal behavior, you can do it anonymously by clicking here.

This list could go on and on. There are so many civil servants that make Milton a nice place to live. There’s the school committee, the fire department, public works, parks and recreation, and the health department. It’s clear; running Milton is a group venture that takes dedication and commitment. I feel quite fortunate to be here.