Norfolk Select Board Formally Appoints Rob Garrity as Town Administrator Starting January 20

NORFOLK — January 12, 2026 — Norfolk Select Board formally seats new town administrator and confronts two state procurement investigations. The board voted unanimously Monday to appoint Rob Garrity as town administrator effective January 20, 2026, with a three-year term, and placed him on four town bodies including the MBTA Advisory Board and the Municipal Affordable Housing Trust. Outgoing Interim Town Administrator Michael Gallagher used his final Select Board meeting to detail findings from two Office of the Inspector General letters: one addressing procedural violations in the lease of space at 12 Sharon Avenue for the Pond Street solar project, and a second involving a DPW vendor whose scope grew from roughly $50,000 to nearly $800,000 between 2021 and the present without competitive bidding. "Just because you've always done it that way, it doesn't make it right," Gallagher told the board, recommending that all town procurements over $10,000 be funneled through a centralized office using standardized, town-drafted contract documents. The DPW matter remains under active OIG review. The board also welcomed new Police Officer Antonia Zagami, transferring from North Attleboro with five years of experience, and new Building Inspector Michael Savant, and approved a $377.82 water bill abatement for a resident at 31 Mirror Lake Avenue whose home suffered an unintended leak.