This guest commentary was submitted to the Enterprise by: Michaela Wyman-Colombo, Mashpee delegate and member of the Mashpee Select Board; Jim Killion, Sandwich delegate; Dan Gessen, Falmouth delegate; and George Slade, Bourne delegate.
On November 5 you will decide if you want your representative in Barnstable County government to have a say in how your tax dollars are spent.
As your elected representatives in Barnstable County government, we urge you to vote “yes” on Question 6.
Barnstable County is a regional government unique to Cape Cod. Every year it saves Cape communities millions by providing shared services that would be many times more expensive if our towns had to fend for themselves—from dredging to Children’s Cove, a state-of-the-art Department of Health, emergency services and much more.
Like any government, it has an executive branch—three commissioners (akin to a select board) and a legislative branch—one delegate elected from each of the 15 Cape Cod towns. Contrary to principles of effective government, the executive branch of Barnstable County has spent most of the last two years arguing that it is not beholden to basic checks and balances.
The Barnstable County charter is scheduled for a comprehensive review, but that won’t likely be in place for the next two budget cycles. We need accountability now. Rather than take the commissioners to court and waste taxpayer money, we drafted Question 6 so that the voters could clarify the checks and balances in the charter once and for all. A “yes” vote on Question 6 will:
Clarify that the assembly can:
- Increase, decrease or omit budget items—the same power granted to every legislative branch, such as Town Meeting, as a fundamental check on the executive branch.
- Codify the role of the existing standing committee on finance to review the county budget every year.
- Allow commissioners and the assembly to propose supplemental appropriation ordinances only if they provide a way to pay for them within existing county funds.
That’s it.
Is it true that Question 6 is too complex or legally dubious? No, the commissioners’ own lawyers have approved the language! The secretary of the commonwealth approved its inclusion on the November ballot.
Will Question 6 jeopardize the county’s bond rating through unchecked spending? No, to the contrary—Question 6 expressly requires that any supplemental appropriations have an available source of funding.
Want to cut through the spin? Read the exact language of the charter amendment and the commissioners’ own lawyers’ approval of it on the county website at capecod.gov
