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Health & Fitness

Legitimacy of Special Commission on County Governance, Its Recommendations and Actions by County Commissioners Called Into Question

Beaty Questions The Legitmacy of the Special Commission on County Governance, Its Recommendations, and All Related Actions Pertaining to Them

March 30, 2012

Barnstable County Commissioners                                                        
P.O. Box 427                                                                                          
3195 Main Street, Superior Courthouse
Barnstable, MA 02630

Dear County Commissioners:

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RE: Legitimacy of Special Commission on County Governance, Its Respective Recommendations, and All Recent Related Actions By County Commissioners Called Into Question

As a registered voter and lifelong citizen of Barnstable County, I feel compelled to bring the following dire concerns to your attention.

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At the Wednesday, March 28, 2012 meeting of the Barnstable County Commissioners, Chairperson Mary Pat Flynn made that claim that the Barnstable County Special Commission on County Governance was NOT appointed by the County Commissioners. For verification of this statement, please see the video of said meeting provided below at approximately 2:23 (two minutes, twenty-three seconds) into the video is when the claim was made by Chairperson Mary Pat Flynn.

Barnstable County Commissioners Meeting, March 28, 2012
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lqALY2N0dBw


However, in the press release issued on February 23, 2012 by the same Barnstable County Commissioners, the following statement is clearly made by the County Commissioners:

"The Commissioners took this action in response to a recommendation of the Special Commission on County Governance, a county-appointed committee of local and regional officials and leaders that has been meeting since September 2011 to consider issues related to the structure and functions of Barnstable County's regional government."

The above-noted statement may be found within the content of the press release provided below:

Press Release Issued on February 23, 2012 by the Barnstable County Commissioners
http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=barnstable+county+commissioners+appoint+special+commission&source=web&cd=8&ved=0CFAQFjAH&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.capecodcommission.org%2Fresources%2Fadministration%2F022312PressRelease_RegionalWWEntity.doc&ei=o1F2T9zjCYPX0QGj-sCPDQ&usg=AFQjCNEkM3vIAvDD3GevNKpRoUNlsvZluQ

Bearing in mind the previously presented information and statements, it must be clearly enunciated that only the County Commissioners have the legal power and authority to appoint a "county-appointed" committee or special commission under requisite provisions of the Home Rule Charter. The press release issued by the County Commissioners clearly states that the Special Commission was a "county-appointed" entity. Yet, Mary Pat Flynn makes the claim that she and the other two county commissioners did NOT appoint said Special Commission. There is a major discrepancy between these two statements which needs to be explained to the public in order to clarify this problem. In addition, if the Special Commission on County Governance was never formally appointed by the Barnstable County Commissioners, then the only logical conclusion that one may reach is that it was an illegal entity which never had a legitimate mandate to operate or exist pursuant to the Barnstable County Home Rule Charter. (Former Senators) Rob O'Leary and Henri Rauschenbach are not County Commissioners and had no legal authority to create the Special Commission of their own accord unless they were indeed first formally appointed by the Barnstable County Commissioners. If what Mary Pat Flynn claims is true, then not only would the Special Commission have been illegal but so would all of its recommendations, including the proposal for creation of the regional wastewater authority as well as the recommendation for the elimination of the Barnstable County Assembly of Delegates. Furthermore, the very legitimacy of any and all actions taken by the County Commissioners in relation to pursuit of the aforesaid special commission recommendations must finally seriously be called into question as well.

Please provide a logical, coherent and unambiguous written explanation to the previously mentioned dilemma at your earliest possible convenience.

Thank you.

Sincerely yours,

Ron Beaty

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