Getting to Know Hanover Town Manager Joseph Colangelo

I never set out to work in municipal government. While earning a master’s degree in public policy in Albany, New York, I took a yearlong internship at a town in Vermont, just on a whim, and really enjoyed it. That led to my first full-time role as assistant town manager in Middlebury, a small but dynamic town anchored by a college. The "town, gown" dynamic was very interesting. From there, I served as town administrator in Hinesburg and then town manager in Shelburne, both near Burlington. What I liked most was the hands-on nature of local government — you get to see the direct impact of your work in people’s lives. That variety, and the people, really stuck with me.

In 2018, after the birth of our second child, my wife and I wanted to be closer to family — she grew up in Wrentham — so I started looking at jobs in the area. When I came to Hanover for the interview, it just felt right. There was something comfortable and familiar about the town, and that feeling has only grown stronger since. We moved here, my kids are in the schools, and it’s really a place we’ve come to love. I’d want to live here whether I was the Town Manager or not.

Honestly, this is the first year since I started in Hanover that things feel stable. I had two “normal” years before COVID hit, and then everything changed: shutdowns, school closures, virtual town meetings, and two years of debate over an override. That period was chaotic. But now, with the override passed by a wide margin, we have clarity and a solid foundation to build on. I’m excited to finally focus on improving operations, strengthening the team, and looking ahead. We’ve rebuilt our finance department, we have a strong public safety team, and we’re ready to move forward.

Water is a major issue, both in terms of quality and quantity. We’ll likely need to begin the process of upgrading our existing treatment plants for PFAS mitigation to keep us in compliance with federal guidelines in the next year or two. These chemicals have been around for decades, but only recently have regulations required action by towns across the state and country. Every town on the South Shore is dealing with this. Even with those upgrades, we still have to tackle water quantity. Our best option is an MWRA connection, because drilling new wells likely won’t give us additional capacity. Without more sources of water, the town is really limited in its options for future growth, at least on a large scale.

I genuinely enjoy it. I like the people: not just town staff, but the volunteers, board members, and residents who care deeply about the community. There are certainly challenging moments, and not everyone’s happy all the time, but I still wake up every day motivated to give it my all. It’s a good feeling to work with people who are committed and to serve a town that matters to you personally.

For the same reasons my family loves living here — it has a hometown feel. My kids play outside with neighborhood friends. There’s a strong sense of community. I love the town’s trail network — it’s really well maintained by groups like the Open Space Committee and the Boy Scouts. Some people raise concerns about the lack of sidewalks, which I understand, but I think our trail system makes up for it. Hanover also has a unique setup: the commercial corridor along Route 53 is tucked into one corner, while the rest of town has more of a residential neighborhood feel. That balance contributes to a high quality of life.