If you look closely at the columns on the Superior Courthouse, you’ll see they are crumbling, literally peeling apart...
— Mark Forest, Chair, Barnstable County Commissioners
Facilities, Finance, and 2026 County Priorities
Barnstable County Commissioners reorganize for 2026, with a new chair and fresh priorities.
Click on the image to watch the video news short
16 January 2026 – BARNSTABLE, MA – Mark Forest will serve as chair of the County Commissioners in 2026, as the county’s elected executive body focuses on finances and facilities.
What has changed?
Mark Forest will serve as chair of the County Commissioners in 2026, as the group focuses on finances and facilities.
The three members of the elected executive body take turns in the leadership role. Last year’s chair, Sheila Lyons, stepped aside and Mark Forest stepped up to serve as chair for 2026, with Ron Bergstrom serving as vice chair.
What is Barnstable County?
Barnstable County, one of the few counties in Massachusetts that still has an operating county government, comprises the 15 towns that make up Cape Cod. The campus, called the county complex, sits atop a gentle hill rising off Rt6a and Cape Cod Bay in Barnstable Village. The complex includes several historical buildings, housing courthouses and other agencies.
Why do the buildings need work?
The key focus points in 2026, says Forest, will be finances, facilities, and support services for the towns. In the first part of the year, Forest expects facilities management to take a leading role.
“If you look at the columns on the superior courthouse, if you look at them closely, you’ll notice that they are crumbling. They are literally peeling apart,” Forest said.
He estimates these repairs, and others like them, will cost about $70M.
What needs to happen with finances?
Finances form another core focus. Last year the county received an S&P AA Plus credit rating – and Forest says the county continues to refine its processes and strengthen its financial capacity to form a backbone for the repairs, as well as ongoing operations such as delivering expanded services to towns.
What town services are in the 2026 queue?
Forest lists a number of services the county hopes to share with the 15 towns. These include cleaning up the hazardous chemicals known as PFAS, the implementation of new technology to support that process, regional composting to remove food from the solid waste stream and save municipal dollars, enhanced testing capacity at the Water Quality Lab, support for housing, water, and wastewater, wildfire planning, and climate mitigation.
Addressing erosion and flooding also ties back to finances; Forest notes that municipal bond ratings have begun to reflect towns’ resilience to the impact of climate change.
Why do towns need the county?
Barnstable County plays a key role in addressing regional issues that impact multiple towns, said Forest, explaining that it offers a scale to support collaboration that can be more effective than individual town efforts.
“We need to get focused on the challenges that our communities are facing in the years ahead,” he said. “To be able to do that on a regional basis to collaborate with other communities, to make sure these needs are met is a real priority for us.”
For more information
About the commissioners – https://www.capecod.gov/county-government/commissioners/
About county services – https://www.capecod.gov/
