Barnstable County commissioners authorize drafting resolution to seek elected charter study commission

Barnstable County commissioners voted Aug. 13 to authorize the county administrator to work with counsel to prepare a resolution asking the secretary of state to place on the 2026 ballot a question to elect a charter study commission under chapter 801 of the Acts of 1985.

County Administrator Michael Dutton introduced the item and asked Barnstable County counsel Michelle Randazzo of KP Law to outline the process, timing and legal requirements for an elected charter study commission that would review and recommend changes to the county charter.

Randazzo told commissioners the formal filing deadline for a resolution to place the question on the ballot is, by her calculation, Feb. 24, 2026; nomination papers for commission candidates would be due about the tenth Tuesday before the election (calculated in the presentation as Aug. 25, 2026). She said the statute requires an election of 15 elected members (one from each town) plus four non-elected ex officio members; the commission would have 18 months after election to issue a final report and the commission’s account would receive an automatic credit of $35,000 within 20 days after the election. She advised commissioners that the statute sets the ballot language and basic…