Much
of the information on this page is excerpted
from "How Barnstable County is Governed," from
the Educational Trust for the League of Women
Voters of Lower Cape Cod, Orleans, 1991. Barnstable
County thanks the League for its assistance.
Counties have had a part in Massachusetts government
since Colonial times. Barnstable County itself was
established in 1685.
Originally, counties had judicial functions, but over
time responsibilities were added, such as administration
of the penal system, supervision of certain health facilites,
highways, agriculture, and registration of deeds.
State
law provided for election of officials, including county
commissioners, district attorneys, sheriffs, clerks
of courts, and registers of both deeds and probate.
In recent years, there were two major changes in the
government structure.
- Until relatively recently, Barnstable County was
similar to other Massachusetts counties: Barnstable
County
had no legislative authority. The Barnstable
County Home Rule
Charter of
1988, however,
provided certain rights of home rule,
as well as opportunities for increased citizen participation
in county government. It created a county legislative
body,
the Assembly
of Delegates,
with the power to enact ordinances.
The Home Rule Charter states:
(From Section 1 of the County Charter)
" We, the people of Barnstable County, in order to gain for ourselves
and
for our communities all the rights, powers, privileges, duties, and obligations
which may now or in the future be derived from county government, do establish
for ourselves and for our communities the means and structure to deal with regional
issues which transcend the existing boundaries of municipal governments. This
home rule charter for Barnstable County places the power and responsibility to
deal with unique problems of Barnstable County in a county government directly
responsible to the people of Barnstable County."
Please see The
Barnstable County Home Rule Charter -- Summary for
more information, and The
Barnstable County Home Rule
Charter -- Latest News for more information.
- The second major change - the Cape Cod Commission Act
of 1990 - created a regional planning agency with regulatory
power.
Please see The Cape Cod Commission
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An
imaginary map, envisioned by a contemporary
Cape Cod
Artist, Breten Bryden, which shows how the
Cape might have been mapped in the
16th
century.. |
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