County and Cape Light Compact Plan to Cut Ties in 2017

BARNSTABLE – Barnstable County and the Cape Light Compact plan to end their partnership in 2017.

The county has provided administrative functions for the compact as it has served as the organizations fiscal agent since the organization was founded in 1997.

The compact delivers energy efficiency programs, consumer advocacy, electricity supply and green power options for all 21 Cape Cod and Vineyard towns.

“They need to stand on their own,” said Mary Pat Flynn. “They are an energy agency for Cape Cod and what we are trying to do is provide some legal structure for them to be able to function on an entity on their own because they have both the fiscal and managerial capacity to do that.”

Plans call for the agency to continue operations without cutting any services with another town as the fiscal agent.

The organization requires a public body to serve as a fiscal agent as it operates as an intermunicipal partnership.

“It’s not changing the structure of the Cape Light Compact. It is simply changing the administrative services agreement and who performs the functions and tasks for the Cape Light Compact such as processing our invoices, etc.,” said Maggie Downey, the Cape Light Compact’s administrator.

The county would like to end the current agreement with the compact by the end of next June.

The compact has been in discussions with local municipalities to serve as the new fiscal agent.

“Right now we have had discussions with the town of Barnstable and the town of Provincetown,” Downey said.

Downey said losing the county will not change any of the services provided by the agency.

“We’d still run our, I’ll toot our horn, our award-winning energy efficiency services and our 100 percent renewable green power option for consumers,” she said.

By BRIAN MERCHANT, CapeCod.com NewsCenter

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