BROOKFIELD — This small town west of Worcester has three members on its Board of Selectmen, but it’s the unofficial, self-appointed, curmudgeonly seer of right and wrong in Brookfield politics who often gets the attention.

The “fourth selectman,’’ as some town officials call him, is John David Holdcraft, a 62-year-old junk collector who uses a large yellow message board on Route 9, the town’s main drag, to skewer town leaders and employees — over and over and over.

“Fire Chief Gives Our Town Another Deluxe Hose Job,’’ one message read last week. “Do You Think Our Highway Boss Needs To Be On Sedatives?’’ another asked last year.

These messages — personal, pointed, and changed to reflect the latest Brookfield contretemps — do not spring from an ostracized outsider railing from the faraway wilderness. Instead, they come from someone who is an elected member of the Planning Board and volunteer chairman of the Advisory Committee, which helps plan the town budget.

“My thumb is on the pulse of things, and everyone knows it,’’ Holdcraft said recently as he stood beneath the sign.

The message board has been lobbing bombs at town government for more than a decade, and many have come to accept its spelling-challenged vitriol as a surreal fact of Brookfield life — appalling for some, entertaining for others.

“It’s a little bit like Peyton Place and Mayberry here,’’ said town clerk Michael Seery, a former selectman with a penchant for world-weary sighs. “It’s a bloody mess. The only time there’s peace is when someone stops to reload their gun.’’

Holdcraft has no interest in a cease-fire. In his view, he’s the only person who brings the town’s 3,390 people the unvarnished, impolitic truth — day after day, week after week, blasting from his sign across the street from the Brookfield Elementary School.

“Do I think it’s harsh? No way. That’s how you’ve got to treat them,’’ Holdcraft said. “I have the courage to stand up for what I believe in.’’

But others think he’s a loose cannon whose unfiltered attacks discourage people from joining town government for fear of being maligned. Some businesses, as well, have been reluctant to set up shop in Brookfield, said tax collector Brenda Parish.

“If there’s a way to rebut it, that would be one thing, but there’s not,’’ Parish said. “And it’s right across from the elementary school. A lot of parents are upset with that.’’

When asked about exposing young children to his insults, Holdcraft shrugged. “The kids on this end of the school can’t even read yet,’’ he said.

The town’s attorney advised officials that the sign is free speech protected by the First Amendment, said Selectman Clarence Snyder, a frequent foil for Holdcraft’s broadsides. One misspelled and fairly mild message targeted him last week: “Punk Synider wants to stop plowing private roads,’’ the sign read, using Snyder’s nickname.

In February, Holdcraft placed photos of Snyder in front of employee mailboxes at Town Hall. The caption read: “He’s a confused man.’’

Snyder, a retired General Electric engineer and manager, slowly shook his head when asked about the attacks.

“There ought to be some protection for the employees,’’ said Snyder, who handed Holdcraft a letter at a selectmen’s meeting that accused the town official of creating a “hostile work environment.’’

Holdcraft promptly tossed the letter into a wastebasket.

“You know why I did that?’’ Holdcraft told selectmen later. “The point was the conversation was in the trash before we started it, because I have the right on that sign — freedom of speech.’’

Cheryl Hatch, who can see the sign from the liquor store where she works, agreed with that defense.

“I have no problem with it, because everyone has the right to say whatever they want,’’ Hatch said. “You know how town politics are.’’

Rudy Heller, a former selectman, certainly does.

Holdcraft once posted a message that read: “Following Rudys Policies is like drinking Jim Jones KoolAid!’’ — a reference to the mass murder-suicide in Guyana in 1978. Another posting used “Heiler’’ to refer to Heller, whose Jewish father fled Vienna and the Nazis.

“He would spell it ‘Heiler,’ so maybe he would get my juices flowing. But much to his regret, I do not fall for it,’’ Heller said. “The climate on the national level permeates down to the local level, too, so it becomes very divisive.’’

Holdcraft referenced that partisan chasm when asked about his opponents.

“Just like the Obama people, they don’t like it because they got beat,’’ Holdcraft said. “I’m a Trump guy.’’

Seery, the town clerk who also is a justice of the peace and notary public, said he’s tired of all the infighting.

“This kind of stuff wears heavily on people,’’ Seery said. “It’s like gum on your shoes. Sometimes, you can’t get rid of it.’’

Or maybe one can.

Snyder said he has retained a personal attorney who told him the sign’s permit expired in 2007, and that its language was restricted to read: “Retail Service for Charitable Reasons.’’

Snyder said he planned to hand-deliver the findings at the selectmen’s meeting Tuesday.

“He doesn’t quite understand who I am,’’ Snyder said, chuckling at the memory of being detained by Iranian authorities in 1974. “If you want to play games, I can play games. And you’re going to lose.’’

In the meantime, Holdcraft will play to his delighted or dumbstruck audience.

“Everybody loves my sign,’’ Holdcraft said. “They either love to hate it, or they love it.’’

Brian MacQuarrie can be reached at brian.macquarrie@ globe.com.