Government
The Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School district committee voted this week to certify a $17.6 million budget for the coming fiscal year, an increase of $732,927 or 4.3 per cent.
“Much of the budget is driven by things we cannot control,” high school principal Stephen Nixon said during a public presentation of the budget last week, noting fixed costs that include salaries, debt service, retirement, shared services and health insurance. Those costs alone total $5.4 million, an increase of 13.3 per cent over last year, Mr. Nixon said.
Following Hurricane Sandy’s blow to the south-facing coastline of the Vineyard last month, the Chilmark conservation commission is now facing a slew of plans for beach protection, including a request to move two homes and a shed now perilously perched atop the cliff at Stonewall Beach.
The state Department of Public Utilities has approved a 15‑year power purchase agreement between the electric company NStar and Cape Wind Associates, the company that plans to build a wind farm on Nantucket Sound.
The approval was announced this week following an eight-month adjudicatory proceeding.
Tisbury town employees will have to restrict their use of Facebook and Twitter while at work from now on.
The selectmen voted this week to approve a social media policy for municipal workers, becoming the first town on the Island to do so.
The policy allows town departments to use social media sites for public communication only, and sets guidelines for public records law, copyright laws, confidential information protection and defamation. The policy will be sent out to all departments for signing within the next two weeks.
The average Oak Bluffs property tax bill is expected to go up by about $59 next year.
The Oak Bluffs selectmen Tuesday approved a proposed tax rate of $7.71 per $1,000 of valuation, a 32 cent increase from last year’s tax rate.
Principal assessor Dianne Wilson presented the proposed rate to the selectmen at a tax rate classification hearing, with the unanimous recommendation of the board of assessors.
Citing concerns about the role of the Martha’s Vineyard Commission and how it might regulate house size, the Edgartown selectmen and several members of the building community spoke out this week about proposed changes to the commission’s criteria for reviewing developments of regional impact (DRIs).
At public hearings Nov. 8 and Nov. 15, the commission outlined proposed revisions to what is commonly called the DRI checklist, which determines what developments towns refer to the commission for possible review. The commission revises the checklist every two years.