[{"_1":2,"_99":-5,"_100":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,75,87],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},"mediaId",5979300,"mediaKeyId","5773898-3459127650733e525a5bb3c7d2fa637c","parentId",5773898,"title","Charter review committee votes to recess work and urges assembly not to add a separate ballot question","audioSeconds",262,"startMs",4454000,"endMs",4716000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=5773898-3459127650733e525a5bb3c7d2fa637c&start=4454&end=4716","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/5773898-3459127650733e525a5bb3c7d2fa637c/thumbnail_4454000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/5979300/Barnstable-County/Massachusetts/Charter-review-committee-votes-to-recess-work-and-urges-assembly-not-to-add-a-separate-ballot-question","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/5979300-4b807b3a7b44ffd47f82373c7037ac24/orig.mp4?Expires=1770498634&Signature=M5hmky~nBRq5R8MWC-Iu8K1IEoYyeS8I7k0q0PNiFrTbWOVCTETuwDNimTke0PZ7KTdyLgR9MuJpgJ4OASZJdNUNSIDqidKdf4i2v1ay4L0zjAbCYD-yjBFdrePbW~1bFMlvFmN5UErgBh7PaVfCD3Nv1U~0brGTqeYfWmTv5CI8wB1d0KPUcIQGdUiN4Qf7KJUlq~rGCmnOTxGAWx~6uYG-4e3XarCRrUeRRPM~yyFkF5iqsLcBhKrZt7FKb-cP2Xx6dsn94WdnkSODdtDv33czHH16~~EB16vRRzEd~97dDFRBXmgg1B-~ovSKRRFO-91CrDYKz1Wt4cq02jxZXg__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","Barnstable County","date","2025-09-18T09:25:12Z","article","The Barnstable County Charter Review Committee voted unanimously to recess its deliberations and recommended that the full Assembly of Delegates not add another ballot question to the 2026 election, saying an additional question would be redundant and could confuse voters.

A committee report to the assembly said the commissioners had already submitted a ballot question asking voters whether to create an elected charter commission and that the review committee \"felt that adding another ballot question would be redundant and could confuse voters, especially since the commissioners had already taken the initiative to put the ballot issue for an elected charter commission on the ballot.\" The report recorded a 6-0 vote; Patrick Princi was absent.

The committee forwarded a draft with grammatical and outdated charter references to the full assembly and said it would reconvene if voters rejected the commissioners' charter-study question. The clerk told the assembly staff will take a final look at the draft and forward it to delegates \"very soon.\" The assembly did not take separate action during the session; members were told the ordinance submitted by the board of regional commissioners will be scheduled for a finance committee review per assembly rules.

Next steps recorded in the meeting: staff will finalize and circulate the committee draft to delegates and schedule the commissioners' ordinance for a finance committee meeting before full assembly consideration.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","September 17, 2025 Assembly of Delegates Regular Meeting","oneSentenceSummary","The Barnstable County Charter Review Committee voted 6-0 to recess deliberations and recommended the full assembly not add a second ballot question because the board of regional commissioners already placed a charter study question on the 2026 ballot.","taxTitle","Barnstable County, Massachusetts","taxId",12948,"location","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":76,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":77,"_41":78,"_43":79,"_45":80,"_47":81,"_49":82,"_51":83,"_53":84,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":85,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":86,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},5979305,"Barnstable County administrator reports grant awards, contract actions and disaster planning to assembly",571,3504000,4075000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=5773898-3459127650733e525a5bb3c7d2fa637c&start=3504&end=4075","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/5773898-3459127650733e525a5bb3c7d2fa637c/thumbnail_3504000.jpg","/articles/5979305/Barnstable-County/Massachusetts/Barnstable-County-administrator-reports-grant-awards-contract-actions-and-disaster-planning-to-assembly","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/5979305-e1f2e10d915ca265d92e28e8385790bf/orig.mp4?Expires=1770498634&Signature=RVdF4P8iI4BA51zXCKBWMFauFRib7nClx4e~E0kzbu9zcCIUBLEId~xHDjnpjpcGIJLrgiQN72Cn8egn-ZQxITNs2CLLQxmKh13Orn~MmCuHSrvJylIEtPWRYw7pHs~YfWWSGCP8e56SGQBEQe85qXOQtIesv71P0z04YnQSi6YclIxcMbw0pmd9HlsybtRGOxAnKvleVM7N14HF-Qlcj8X2HWFiInA1A8-1rqjtGOGjN0ufjqyg3PICpzjw9lLF5KBnQCCtgfr0qX2YugBkTBy9PGV5oDRLDRfn6OR94ehZbBLMDHM~kHvPhuGuGm5pfnl-c0GZvril0lbWONzVfA__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Barnstable County Administrator Michael Dutton told the Assembly of Delegates on Wednesday that the regional board of commissioners has approved several administrative actions and that staff are preparing for an active fall season, including hurricane season and related disaster-recovery planning.

Dutton summarized recent commissioner actions: a supplemental budget appropriation to receive shared regional housing funds (roughly $157,000, to be paid by participating towns, he said); an almost $619,000 contract amendment with GZA, the licensed site professional for the former municipal fire training site; and a grant agreement between MassDEP and Barnstable County, acting through MassTC (now called the Clean Water Center), for just under $417,000 over two years to test urine-diversion strategies for reducing nitrogen loads in marine watersheds.

Dutton also said the commissioners authorized a no-cost extension for a drinking-water quality assessment and noted an earlier ARPA-funded pilot that provided 300 free well-water tests; the program continues on a fee basis. He said the county moved forward with a paving contract for county complex parking lots with MCE Dirt Works and that the work should finish before area asphalt plants close in November. He also noted a previous appropriation of about $400,000 for paving that staff had identified and directed to specific lots.

On budgeting and operations, Dutton said he plans to change how the county presents its annual budget to the assembly: he intends to present a consistent, county-level overview and to field initial questions himself so departmental staff have fewer separate hearings. \"Whether you like it or not, I think the major change will be you'll see more of me,\" he said.

Dutton flagged disaster-recovery planning as a priority and said the county has been in discussions with the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency about possible changes in FEMA funding and what that could mean for Cape Cod if a major storm requires federal disaster assistance. \"We are concerned that if in the event that we have a disaster that requires significant funding, that funding may not be coming from the federal government,\" he said, adding the county and state may need to provide more relief if FEMA participation changes.

Delegates asked for clarification: Delegate Harder asked who will administer the shared regional housing program; Dutton said Human Services had run the program over the past two years but that oversight is moving into the administrator's office with a consultant and staff support. Finance committee members described interim capital project updates as \"sobering,\" noting ongoing high costs for the municipal fire training site and superior court restoration work. Dutton said he would provide more detail to the assembly and encouraged delegates to contact him with specific questions.

Outcomes recorded in the meeting minutes indicate the commissioners authorized the items described; the assembly heard the update and asked follow-up questions but took no new policy votes at this session.","Administrator Michael Dutton briefed the Assembly on recent regional commissioners' approvals: a shared-regional-housing appropriation, a contract amendment for the municipal fire training site, a MassDEP grant through the Clean Water Center, paving contracts and concerns about FEMA funding for disaster recovery.",{"_33":88,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":89,"_41":90,"_43":91,"_45":92,"_47":93,"_49":94,"_51":95,"_53":96,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":97,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":98,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},5979309,"Cape Cod legislators press for luxury real estate transfer fee as a locally controlled housing revenue tool",2871,619000,3490000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=5773898-3459127650733e525a5bb3c7d2fa637c&start=619&end=3490","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/5773898-3459127650733e525a5bb3c7d2fa637c/thumbnail_619000.jpg","/articles/5979309/Barnstable-County/Massachusetts/Cape-Cod-legislators-press-for-luxury-real-estate-transfer-fee-as-a-locally-controlled-housing-revenue-tool","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/5979309-9b1df2cb07f601618e5204fae1ddfd4f/orig.mp4?Expires=1770498634&Signature=mByIL3b~ZquIocEPc21GdZ6ZKuVuVrjY8QdkXwZIZiAHnYbIQnFerWyUz9Vr69lcDlvEfP98POc3zSbTErskQUNishxxGE0SKpowtp1KTN8vAMiWV9MvCdI1PgZ4jni3X8EbCRAD5mNU2gvXb19zZIumuaBhFCR8LKTay3J2Yu0qSX-XCjXfKM9cr6brIsUuJLwavwTxNK-cML3t~eqaM8cIyVd06ItTUVXKwv3wO1ebLRfMPPbvS1Kf34bpq9rlXNYE5CqH1WkCznSIDoRsemyLOJNzDGn0lJEdjoVfhhR71s~D8Kx0xRVuNwlHL0R43q2DZZIITSimWxPFJQwImw__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","State and local lawmakers urged the Barnstable County Assembly of Delegates on Wednesday to support a local-option luxury real estate transfer fee as a dedicated revenue source for affordable housing on Cape Cod and the islands.

The discussion — led by State Representative Thomas Mokely and state senators Julian Cyr and Dylan Fernandez and joined by Representative Hadley Luddy — centered on giving towns and the county a means to raise and keep money locally to preserve and create year-round, deed-restricted housing for local workers, teachers and first responders.

The fee is proposed as a local option, not a statewide mandate, and would apply to high-value property transfers; the exact threshold and percentage would be set by each municipality or by a regional framework if the county pursues a home rule petition. \"I filed a home rule petition on behalf of the town of Falmouth to institute a luxury real estate transfer fee,\" Representative Thomas Mokely told delegates. \"I encourage you guys to talk about this, and to please be in touch with us and your your local representatives.\" Senator Dylan Fernandez said the fee \"is a mechanism that would allow us to really be able to dictate our own future when it comes to supporting housing because this funding stays, local, is raised locally, and is used at the discretion of the local municipality.\"

Why it matters: delegates and legislators said the region needs a dedicated revenue source to implement the policy tools created by last year’s Affordable Homes Act, including the \"seasonal communities\" designation. Senator Julian Cyr described the delegation as \"laser focused on delivering this tool,\" and said the scale of need is large: he cited a median home price in Barnstable County of more than $760,000 and said the island of Nantucket estimates roughly a $500 million housing deficit. Cyr said 14 of the 19 towns in his district have passed home rule requests related to a transfer fee.

Delegates pressed legislators on how a county-level home rule petition would interact with municipal petitions and on distribution of any revenue raised. Senator Cyr said the two approaches are not mutually exclusive: a county petition would \"add to the menu of options\" for Beacon Hill and could be pursued alongside municipal petitions. On distribution, Cyr said the legislative process would need to work through an equitable allocation similar to the Cape Cod and Islands Water Protection Fund model used to finance wastewater projects, and that those details would be negotiated by legislators and stakeholders.

No formal vote or policy change was taken by the assembly at this meeting. Legislators asked delegates to consider endorsing or otherwise signaling support to strengthen the delegation’s position at the State House. Several delegates said they would follow up with written questions and requested more detail on timing and design; Senator Cyr said the legislative session runs through July 31 and urged early engagement.

The record shows robust discussion but no assembly action; legislators and delegates agreed the specifics — exemptions, whether the fee applies to buyers and/or sellers, distribution formula, and whether the county or individual towns would administer proceeds — are matters for further policy development and negotiation on Beacon Hill.","State legislators and county delegates discussed a proposal for a local-option luxury real estate transfer fee to fund affordable housing, with lawmakers urging a unified regional voice while acknowledging the policy and distribution questions that remain.","actionData","errors"]

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Charter review committee votes to recess work and urges assembly not to add a separate ballot question

Barnstable County administrator reports grant awards, contract actions and disaster planning to assembly

Cape Cod legislators press for luxury real estate transfer fee as a locally controlled housing revenue tool