LETTER: Ballot Question Would Eliminate County Government

Should we direct our State Representative to Abolish The Norfolk County Commissioners' office?

YES (Proposed Ballot Question for 2026)

Massachusetts has 14 counties, and 8 of them have been abolished. This would abolish the Norfolk County Commissioners' office and the Norfolk County Advisory board. The Norfolk County Sheriff, Jail, and the DA’s office are already funded by the state and would continue to exist. Essex County abolished its Commissioners' office, and it still has its Agricultural High School and Registry of Deeds. All the frivolous lawsuits the commissioners are involved in would be gone, too.

The Norfolk County Commissioners' budget is $34,000,000.00 a year. They charge the 28 cities and towns in the $8,000,000.00 a year in fees for their “services”.

The Norfolk County Commissioners are trying to smash through a controversial solar project that will destroy 30 acres of forest, farmland, and recreational space at Bubbling Brook in Westwood and Norfolk County Agricultural High School. Nearly everyone who knows about it is against it. They start on the Bubbling Brook portion in July 2026. There is still time to save the main campus and delay the project or stop it entirely with a YES vote on this question. Please go on YouTube and search Norfolk County Solar Hearing if you’d like to see the overwhelmingly negative opinion we all have on this project. The school's roofs and parking lot have already been utilized for solar. We should not be trading natural resources for this.

During COVID, Norfolk County received over $130 million in American Rescue Plan monies. The Commissioners sat on that money for 9 months and made each city and town apply for grants. Where did all that interest go over the 9 months? In Worcester, Essex, Middlesex, and other counties without Commissioners, the cities and towns received their money immediately.

(This is one of many examples of financial waste and corruption from Norfolk County.) I was on the Board of Trustees at Norfolk County Agricultural High School for 10 years. I saw firsthand what a waste of money the County Government is. It's a racket at best. I ran for Norfolk

County Commissioner in 2022, and I was hard-pressed to explain why we needed it and what exactly a commissioner does. The entire thing is a waste of money.

The Town of Walpole denied the Solar company the building permits. The County Commissioners Richard Staiti of Canton, Peter Collins of Milton, Joe Shea of Quincy, along with staffers Director John Cronin and William Buckley of Walpole, have sued the town over this.

The Norfolk County Registrar and I both agree we’d all be better off without it. Both the Registry of Deeds and Norfolk County Agricultural High School would remain intact, just like in Essex County, where they abolished their County Government.

Lawsuits between the Registry of Deeds and the town of Walpole on behalf of the Norfolk County Commissioners have cost us, the taxpayers, millions. The only person benefiting from the Commissioner's office existing is their lawyer, Scott Lopez.

We will need help getting signatures. We need about 3500 signatures to get the question on the ballot. Follow us on Instagram @abolishnorfolkcountygovernment and Facebook Matt Sheehan Trustee.

Please join us on May 3rd, 4-8pm at the Dedham American Legion. Complimentary food and cash bar. There will be more information on the Ballot Question and sheets for signatures.

When was the last time you had a problem and thought, thank god the Norfolk County Government was here to help me?

Matthew J. Sheehan

Concerned Norfolk County Resident

IMAGE: A recent Norfolk County Commissioner's meeting on Youtube.