Charter

Chapter 801 of the Acts of 1985: Authorizing Barnstable County Voters to Create a Home Rule Charter

In 1985, the Massachusetts Legislature enacted Chapter 801, a special act authorizing the voters of Barnstable County to adopt a home rule charter. The measure authorized the creation of a 15-member elected Charter Study Commission—one member from each town in the county—to study and recommend a new form of county government. Following public hearings, research, and deliberation, the Commission submitted a proposed charter to the voters.

1988 Ballot Question: Establishing the Barnstable County Home Rule Charter

In 1988, Barnstable County voters approved the Home Rule Charter, shaping the structure of regional government as we know it today. This ballot question provided voters with a clear explanation of the proposed Charter and its intended impact on regional governance.

To understand the original vision of the Charter Commission and what the voters ultimately approved, we encourage you to review the original ballot question. Pay particular attention to the next-to-last paragraph, which highlights the potential for regional, or “interlocal,” services.

Barnstable County Home Rule Charter

In 1988, when Barnstable County adopted the Home Rule Charter, it formalized regional governance, ensuring the county could address issues beyond individual town boundaries.

“We the people of Barnstable County, in order to gain for ourselves and for our communities, all of the rights, powers, privileges, duties, and obligations which may now or in the future be derived from a regional government providing extensive services to its region known as Barnstable County and being fiscally sound, do reestablish for ourselves and for our communities the means and the structure to deal with regional issues which transcend the existing boundaries of municipal governments.”
— Barnstable County Home Rule Charter, November 8, 1988