Commissioners to seek elected charter study commission; assembly charter review to reconvene

Barnstable County commissioners have asked county staff to draft a resolution that would trigger an elected Charter Study Commission, County Administrator Michael Dutton told the Assembly of Delegates on Aug. 20, 2025. Dutton said the commissioners discussed the steps with KP Law and that a short resolution had been circulated for upcoming consideration.

“By consensus at that meeting, they’ve asked me to come back with a resolution that would trigger an elected, charter study commission,” Dutton said, describing action at the commissioners’ meeting. The administrator said the commissioners expect to consider the resolution at their next meeting.

Members of the Assembly’s charter review committee said they skipped an August meeting because of the pending commissioners’ action and plan to reconvene in September. The committee’s chair said KP Law will provide a tutorial on elected charter commissions on Sept. 3 and the charter review committee is tentatively scheduled to meet on Sept. 10 to examine next steps and implications for the assembly’s ongoing charter review work.

No final charter changes were adopted at the Aug. 20 assembly meeting. The commissioners’ next meeting will include the proposed resolution; if the commissioners adopt it, statutory timelines and ballot processes associated with creating an elected charter study commission will follow as specified by state law and county rules.