Local boards retain full authority. Nashoba is a public non-profit agency. Its support comes from funds from its member towns called assessments, and fees charged to users of the agency's services. The assessments and fees are decided by a vote of the members of the association. In the past decade there has been a concerted effort to reduce the assessment and rely on users fees to support specific services.
Local boards can and do charge their own fees for certain local board services.
In towns that follow this procedure, the rationale is that local services, particularly secretarial support, justify the fees. Like all fees, however, the fee must be used to support the specific service. The fee cannot be used for raising general revenue or it may be challenged in court. The sections that follow describe in more detail the broad range of services that Nashoba Associated Boards of Health continues to provide on daily basis. Nashoba services include nursing , social work, dental and environmental programs designed to protect and improve public health in the Nashoba service area.