CAPE COD REGIONAL GOVERNMENT
(Known as Barnstable County)
ASSEMBLY OF DELEGATES
Welcome to the Assembly of Delegates Home Page!
WHAT IS THE ASSEMBLY OF DELEGATES?
The Assembly of Delegates is the legislative branch of Cape Cod Regional Government, known as Barnstable County. The Assembly of Delegates is located in First District Courthouse, Route 6A, Barnstable, MA. The office telephone is (508) 375-6761 or 375-6762, the fax number is (508) 362-6530, and the email address is aofd@barnstablecounty.org. There are fifteen towns located within Barnstable County, and each town is duly represented on the Assembly of Delegates.
In 1989, by an Act of the Massachusetts General Court and confirmed by a majority of Barnstable County voters, the Barnstable County Home Rule Charter went into effect and the first session of the Assembly of Delegates convened. The Barnstable County Home Rule Charter authorizes a County tax to fund regional services, and each town pays a certain percentage based on its assessed valuation. This tax is in addition to the Deeds Excise Tax, received by all counties in the Commonwealth, and an assessment authorized in 1990 by an Act of the Massachusetts General Court and confirmed by a majority of Barnstable County voters for the Cape Cod Commission Environmental Protection Fund. All legislative powers of the County are vested in the Assembly of Delegates and, except as provided in the Barnstable County Home Rule Charter, the acts of the Assembly of Delegates are required to be by Ordinance. Periodically the Assembly of Delegates adopts Resolutions regarding issues of regional importance to Barnstable County.
Assembly Membership
The Assembly of Delegates consists of fifteen Delegates representing each of the towns located in Barnstable County. A Delegate’s vote is weighted based on the 2000 U.S. Decennial Census. The town of Barnstable, for example, has the largest vote of 21.52% and Truro the smallest vote of 0.94%.
Delegates are elected by the voters in each of their municipalities for a two year term. Delegates were elected for the eleventh session of the Assembly of Delegates on November 11, 2008, and were sworn in on January 7, 2009.
At the beginning of each legislative session of the Assembly, a Speaker and Deputy Speaker are elected from its membership. The Assembly of Delegates employs a Clerk to provide legislative assistance to the Assembly. Ronald Bergstrom, the Delegate from Chatham, was elected Speaker for the eleventh session of the Assembly of Delegates. Thomas Keyes, the Delegate from Sandwich, was elected Deputy Speaker.
In 2003, Delegate George Bryant, who has served as a Delegate from Provincetown since 1989, was awarded the honorary title of Dean of the Assembly of Delegates. At the beginning of each session of the Assembly of Delegates, Delegate Bryant serves as Speaker Pro Tem prior to the election of a new Speaker.
The Assembly of Delegates holds regular meetings on the first and third Wednesday of each month at 4:00 p.m. A Journal of Proceedings and/or summary of the regular meetings are available to the public. The Assembly of Delegates has Standing Committees to deal with important issues facing the County. Committee meetings are where the Assembly’s work takes place prior to regular meetings.
All meetings of the Assembly of Delegates are held in the Assembly of Delegates Chamber or Small Conference Room in the First District Courthouse, Route 6A, Barnstable, MA, unless otherwise noted. The Assembly Chamber and the Small Conference Room are available for use by others by contacting the office of the Assembly of Delegates by telephone or by email. The office will confirm the requested reservation or reply that the meeting space is not available in the same manner as the request is received.
Assembly Work in 2009
During 2009 the Assembly of Delegates reviewed and adopted, with amendments, the Board of County Commissioner’s proposed budget for fiscal year 2010. After receipt of the FY2010 proposed budget, standing committees of the Assembly met with department managers and discussed the goals and accomplishments in each department. The committees analyzed how reductions in departments’ budgets would affect services to the towns. The Standing Committee on Finance noted that there were two major factors in the County Commissioners’ proposed budget that it viewed as being problematic. One was that in order to balance the proposed budget the County Commissioners included an increase to the deeds excise tax. The other concern was that one million dollars might be needed to pay for the Sheriff’s retirees’ health insurance. This was not funded in the proposed budget because of pending legislation whereby the County Sheriff would become a part of State government. Committee members were not in favor of increasing the deeds excise tax without first looking at further reductions to the budget and also at possible reforms. Finance committee members were concerned that if the legislation regarding the Sheriff’s Department did not pass the County would be required to fund the one million dollars, and wanted assurances that the County would be in a position to make the necessary expenditures. At the public hearing on the proposed budget, the Standing Committee on Finance heard significant testimony about potential budget cuts and the impacts that further cuts would have on the County’s ability to provide important services to the towns. The committee also heard from numerous real estate agents who believed that the proposed increase to the deeds excise tax would have a negative effect on real estate transactions in the County. Recommendations from the Standing Committee on Finance to the Assembly of Delegates were based, in part, on information received at the public hearing. It was also based on information gathered in committee and received from other standing committees. Prior to adopting the FY 2010 budget, further budget cuts within departments were considered and then voted, in addition to reductions that were already reflected in the proposed budget. The Assembly of Delegates also voted to increase the Deeds Excise Tax from $1.14 to $1.36.
The Assembly of Delegates amended the membership provisions of the Cape Cod Water Protection Collaborative to include the Executive Director of the Cape Cod Commission and the Department Manager of the Department of Health and the Environment as ex officio members.
The Administrative Code was amended to provide for changes to the terms of appointments of the Barnstable County Health and Human Services Advisory Council.
The Assembly of Delegates voted to amend Chapter A, Code of Cape Cod Commission Regulations of General Application, and the proposed revisions were in two categories: 1) technical changes that involve definitions, DRI thresholds and procedures; and 2) the incorporation of a Limited DRI review process, as recommended by the 21st Century Task Force.
The Assembly of Delegates voted to amend the Code of Cape Cod Commission Regulations of General Application, Chapter D, Development Agreement Regulations. Development Agreements are voluntary, binding contracts that assure applicable development review regulations will not change over the necessary construction period of a project. The purpose of the proposed changes was to further define the process where the Commission is a party and also incorporated DRI review into the Development Agreement process, which provided due process rights as they exist now under DRI review.
After returning two ordinances to the Cape Cod Commission for redrafting and restudy, the Assembly of Delegates adopted an ordinance that added Chapter H to the Code of Cape Cod Commission Regulations of General Application. Chapter H establishes a procedure whereby Towns that have adopted maps will be able to raise or lower thresholds, depending upon the area the project is located in. The Regional Policy Plan contains a Regional Land Use Vision Map that identifies the towns’ economic centers, industrial areas, village centers, resource protection areas, and other areas that are primarily residential. Within each mapped area, thresholds could have various ranges. The intent is to have a streamlined process where the town’s Planning Board and Board of Selectmen, or Barnstable Town Council, with a majority vote of each Board, can request a change in thresholds and then by a majority vote by the Cape Cod Commission the thresholds would go into effect. Threshold changes would not require a separate vote by the Assembly of Delegates. An ordinance was also adopted amending Chapter A to reflect the addition of Chapter H.
The Assembly of Delegates adopted an ordinance for a supplemental appropriation to fund 911/CMED (Centralized Medical Emergency Dispatch) in the amount of $50,000. The Sheriff’s Department operates CMED through the County’s Communication Center. The Sheriff’s Department is not getting compensated for the service, and he reached a point where he needed financial assistance to maintain this service. Cape Cod Health Care has also contributed money. The Assembly of Delegates adopted a Resolution that was sent to the State Delegation urging them to find a dedicated revenue source for CMED. All of the Fire Departments in Barnstable County use CMED.
Barnstable County Charter Review
Every five years Barnstable County must review its Home Rule Charter. By Resolution 09-02, the Assembly of Delegates established a Charter Review Committee, required by Article 9, General Provisions, Section 9-4, Periodic Review of the Barnstable County Home Rule Charter. Speaker Ron Bergstrom asked each town for a nomination to the committee, and on October 6, 2009, Speaker Bergstrom announced the names of the Charter Review Committee. The Committee held its first meeting on October 14, 2009. More information on the Charter Review Committee can be found at http://www.barnstablecounty.org/crc/
Barnstable County government has always been recognized as the exception to failing county governments in Massachusetts and has served as a model for the successful regionalization of services. The Assembly of Delegates, in conjunction with the Board of County Commissioners, the executive branch of the Cape Cod Regional Government, work together to preserve and enhance regional services in Barnstable.
County Departments
There are numerous departments within the County that provide services to the towns. Each year the County publishes an Annual Report that gives a detailed analysis of programs and services performed by each department. In addition, County officials frequently meet with Boards of Selectmen to discuss the services their specific town receives from the County and other programs that are available. Utilization of County services provides savings to the towns and the cost benefits are highlighted at these meetings.
The Cape Cod Commission is a department of Barnstable County and is funded by the Cape Cod Environmental Protection Fund. The Cape Cod Commission was created in 1990 by an Act of the Massachusetts General Court and confirmed by a majority of Barnstable County voters. The Commission was established as a regional planning and regulatory agency. The Assembly of Delegates oversees, by adoption of ordinances, regulations of the Cape Cod Commission dealing with the Regional Policy Plan, Developments of Regional Impact, and Districts of Critical Planning Concern.
Additional information about Barnstable County may be obtained by contacting the Assembly of Delegates office.
