Campaign Phone
774-251-7268
Barnstable County's vital services – Health and Human Services, Emergency Management, and Environmental Services, including the Cape Cod Commission, form a resilient community's foundation. These interconnected pillars ensure well-being, safety, and prosperity, fostering a high quality of life. Prioritizing these services safeguards valuable assets: people, natural resources, and economic vitality. Effective delivery requires collaboration, innovation, and data-driven decision making. Investing in these cornerstone services cultivates a vibrant, healthy, and sustainable community, securing a brighter future. Strategic focus enhances the present and future, allowing residents to thrive, businesses to prosper, and the environment to flourish.
To foster a truly vibrant and equitable community, county commissioners must prioritize universal access to services. This necessitates a multifaceted approach, encompassing cultural competency training, language access initiatives, and strategic outreach efforts. By co-locating services in community hubs and leveraging technology, we can bridge systemic gaps. Continuous evaluation and community engagement ensure responsiveness to evolving needs. Allocating resources effectively and embracing partnerships amplifies impact. By committing to this comprehensive framework, we can empower all residents, regardless of socio-economic background, to thrive and reach their full potential, ultimately strengthening the fabric of our community.
When weather related events intensify, Barnstable County must seize a leadership role in addressing such important threats. By harnessing collective action, innovative solutions, collaborative governance, and cutting-edge technologies, we can forge a resilient, sustainable, and regenerative future. Let us champion climate justice, invest in green infrastructure, cultivate a culture of environmental stewardship, and prioritize ecosystem services. Together, we can mitigate the worst impacts of climate related problems, protect biodiversity, and ensure a thriving legacy for generations to come. The time for bold action is now – let us rise to the challenge and create a beacon of hope for a climate-resilient world.
Barnstable County faces a housing crisis that demands bold, innovative, and sustainable action. As a community, we must recognize the inherent dignity of every individual and their right to safe, affordable, and accessible housing. By leveraging policy, funding, and community engagement, we can create a comprehensive, inclusive, and equitable solution. Let us allocate resources, streamline regulations, and foster partnerships to increase affordable housing supply, promote economic growth, and enhance quality of life. Together, we can break cycles of poverty, homelessness, and inequality. The time for action is now. Let us rise to the challenge and build a brighter future for all, where housing is a fundamental right, not a privilege.
As Barnstable County stands at the precipice of transformation, its future hinges on embracing a harmonious synergy of progress and preservation.
We must confront the most pressing issues threatening our region's vitality: the imperative to restore water quality and revamp wastewater management, the affordable housing crisis strangling our workforce, the substance abuse quagmire ravaging our communities, the relentless coastal erosion compromising our shores, and mitigating the serious lack of access to much needed mental health services in our community, and reigning in the wind turbine energy industry invading our shores. By tackling these challenges head-on we can propel our region forward.
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Campaign Phone
774-212-1902
Examples are the Health Dept and County Dredge, facilitating cooperation and mutual aid between municipalities. Health department does restaurant and public health inspections for all 15 towns. They also provide direct public services like testing a tick for Lyme or Babinosis after a bite. The Dredge provides services for all town shorelines on a rotating basis and is almost overwhelmed; it has a long wait time. With unusual weather systems, the service is vital to protect waterways. These services exemplify the best of county services. They can prevent redundancy in local services, providing for the small towns that fund them. There may be other types of cooperative services that are difficult for small towns to provide.
We must challenge the Area Median Income figures. Barnstable County has a single AMI from the bridges to Provincetown. Common sense alone would dictate that groceries cost more in Chatham than in Bourne - the former must factor in gas prices to transport goods, difficulty in finding workers, etc. The latter is partially over the bridge where such factors are negligible. In Brookline, there are 4 different AMI’s for a single city based on neighborhood! By providing more accurate data, we can help more people who should qualify to truly benefit. We also need to have services based upon need for help rather than arbitrary limits that penalize individuals for being $1 over a figure. County can step in to help based on need rather than arb
Small can be beautiful The County has an active program to reclaim wastewater. Algae eats nitrogen like kids eat sugar, and existing alternative systems can divert 95% of human waste from our sole source aquifer; this can be done now instead of waiting for pipes to be laid, treatment plants to be built, etc. There are low interest 20 year loans for installation through the CC Aqua Fund, with $5 million available. The County needs to make plans like this better known and more available to towns and residents through ‘evangelizing’ and encouraging. Sadly, this issue has been politicized and that needs to end. County cannot control the world, but can make things better with programs like this in our own back yard helping all our residents
The housing crisis is also a senior crisis. The county could facilitate construction of All Abilities construction, especially of ADU’s. In an AA unit, ALL bathrooms have grab bars, ALL doorways are wide enough for a wheelchair or walker, not just set asides. The national epidemic of senior homelessness is worse here as renters for decades are evicted as units are sold. Use of public funds should require universal accessibility. The County can help by providing architect plans and other advice such as sources for AA alternative specs. Some nonprofits do so in exchange for a low-income deed restriction but we could do this for public need. By allowing a person to create an accessible ADU for themselves, they could live in the unit and
County government’s makeup seems unfair. The Assembly of Delegates votes on a population weighted basis; Barnstable and Falmouth can almost outvote the other 13 towns all by themselves but Provincetown’s vote is less than one percent. At the same time, the three County Commissioners run on an at large basis which also favors the more populated towns. A fairer solution would be to retain the current population-based voting in the Assembly of Delegates, but have the County Commissioners run in a district vote. We have fifteen towns, so there could be an easy division of 5-5-5 for the districts. That would ensure a larger voice for all the towns and the individuals in them in the decisions made by the county government
