Sean O’Brien, Treasurer/Collector
Town of Barnstable
Town of Barnstable
About
Learn about Town of Barnstable including our News & Press Releases, Projects, and Team.
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Have questions? Reach out to us directly.
Learn about Town of Barnstable including our News & Press Releases, Projects, and Team.
About Town of Barnstable
- Population as of 4/1/2022
- 48,916
- Bond Ratings
- AAA
- FY2024 Budget
- $237,668,302
Centrally located in the heart of the Cape Cod peninsula, the Town of Barnstable is the region’s ‘Hub’ for commerce, transportation, healthcare and education.
Home to the Cape’s airport, the Regional Transportation Center for bus and rail travel, plus two ferry terminals, Barnstable truly is the gateway to all of Cape Cod and the islands of Nantucket and Martha’s Vineyard.
Established in 1639, historic Barnstable is surrounded by the waters of Cape Cod Bay to the north and Nantucket Sound to the South, and is comprised of seven villages: Barnstable, Centerville, Cotuit, Hyannis, Marstons Mills, Osterville, and West Barnstable, each with unique cultural and historical qualities.
Barnstable offers a plethora of rich natural resources: host to 15 beaches, working and scenic harbors, conservation lands, biking/hiking trails, two municipal golf course, fishing and shellfishing, fresh water ponds and streams, historic properties and landmarks. For locals and visitors alike, wherever you turn you are surrounded by a quality of life unmatched by any other.
Barnstable has both the Cape’s largest year-round (45,000) and a summer seasonal population (150,000). It is also within close proximity to Boston, Massachusetts and Providence, Rhode Island (1 hour); Hartford, Connecticut (2 hours); New York (4 hours) and easy driving distance for the entire Northeast Corridor. Vehicle traffic over the bridges in the summer averages over 125,000 cars per day.
The village of Hyannis is the center of commercial activity not only for the Town of Barnstable but for the entire Cape region. The Cape’s only major enclosed mall is located in Hyannis along with a large number of national chain stores and restaurants. Alternatively, downtown Hyannis offers an ambiance well suited to unique locally-owned specialty shops, artist galleries, restaurants and bistros. Cape Cod Hospital is also located in Hyannis and Cape Cod Health Care is the largest employer in the town and region.
This ambiance is also found in the other village centers of Barnstable as well. While smaller in scale than Hyannis, they feature a quaint, historic, seaside charm that is prevalent in this area.
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News
News
March 9, 2023
(HYANNIS, MA – March 9, 2023) Sean O’Brien, Town Treasurer, announced that the Town of Barnstable received competitive bids from bond underwriters on Wednesday, March 8, 2023, for a $14,550,000, 20-year general obligation bond issue. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC was the winning bidder on the Bonds with an average interest rate of 3.25%. The Town received a total of ten (10) bids on the Bonds. Bond proceeds will be used to finance various municipal projects.
Prior to the sale, S&P Global Ratings, a municipal bond credit rating agency, affirmed the Town’s ‘AAA’ bond rating, the highest rating attainable. The rating agency cited the Town’s strong wealth and income indicators, comprehensive set of formalized financial policies and practices, history of strong financial performance with maintenance of very strong reserves, low overall debt and contingent liability profile, and strong institutional framework as positive credit factors.
The bids for the Bonds were accepted at the offices of the Town’s Financial Advisor, Hilltop Securities Inc., at 54 Canal Street in Boston, Massachusetts.
News
October 17, 2022
Every year cities and towns in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts are required to submit a set of financial statements to the Massachusetts Department of Revenue – Division of Local Services, to have their surplus funds for the General Fund and Enterprise Fund’s certified. This is known as the “Free Cash Certification”. Free cash is the cash in the community’s treasury on July 1 that is free of any encumbrance and may be appropriated for use.
On October 12, 2022 the Town of Barnstable received its certification. The table below illustrates the certified amounts for each fund compared to the amount certified on the previous July 1 date. Certified amounts for each community can be viewed online using the following link: https://dlsgateway.dor.state.ma.us/gateway/DLSPublic/CertificationFreeCashPublicReport/CertificationFreeCashPublic
The decrease in the HYCC and Sewer enterprise operations are the result of surplus appropriated for the Fiscal Year 2023 capital and operating budgets. The increase in all the other funds is the result of surplus generated at the close of Fiscal Year 2022 exceeding any surplus used to balance the Fiscal Year 2023 capital and operating budgets for those respective funds. These amounts are available for the Fiscal Year 2024 budget development as well as any Fiscal Year 2023 unplanned expenditures.
Four enterprise funds have a surplus that was certified in excess of their Fiscal Year 2023 operating budgets. The Airport Fund is close to having 100% of its operating budget in reserves. The town’s target reserve balance for the enterprise funds is in most cases 50%, or 6 months depending upon the fund’s revenue stream volatility, capital needs and it susceptibility to extraordinary and unforeseen expenses. The HYCC enterprise fund is well below this level and is acceptable as it receives significant General Fund subsidies on an annual basis. The enterprise fund model is only used so that management can easily measure this subsidy. The town’s General Fund policy is 4% and the reserve level is nearly 4 times this amount at 15%.
Press Release
March 3, 2022
(BARNSTABLE, MA – March 3, 2022) The Town of Barnstable’s Treasurer Debra
Blanchette announced that the Town received competitive bids from bond underwriters on Tuesday, March 1, 2022, for a $11,475,000, 20-year general obligation bond issue. Piper Sandler & Co. was the winning bidder on the Bonds with an average interest rate of 2.13%. The Town received a total of seven (7) bids on the Bonds. Bond proceeds will be used to finance various municipal projects.
Prior to the sale, S&P Global Ratings, a municipal bond credit rating agency, affirmed the Town’s ‘AAA’ bond rating, the highest rating attainable. The rating agency cited the Town’s strong wealth and income indicators, comprehensive set of formalized financial policies and practices, history of strong financial performance with maintenance of very strong reserves, low overall debt and contingent liability profile, and strong institutional framework as positive credit factors.
The bids for the Bonds were accepted at the offices of the Town’s Financial Advisor,
Hilltop Securities Inc., at 54 Canal Street in Boston, Massachusetts.
Projects
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Team
Sean O’Brien
Treasurer/Collector
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Talk to us
Have questions? Reach out to us directly.