The Steamship Authority's top finance officials will be on the Island on Thursday to answer questions and hear comments from the public on the proposed $162 million budget, which includes fare hikes.
On Thursday in Oak Bluffs, the Steamship Authority’s top finance officials will answer questions and hear comments from the public about the draft 2026 budget.
The open house with Steamship treasurer Mark Rozum and assistant treasurer Courtney Oliveira begins at 6:30 p.m. in the select board meeting room at Oak Buffs town hall.
The boat line’s draft $162 million budget includes across-the-board increases in fares and parking fees. Steamship staff have said the fare hikes are needed to cover a projected $7.4 million gap between income and revenue.
The main driver of the shortfall was increases in ferry maintenance and operating expenses combined with a projected revenue decline.
A 50-cent increase in walk-on passenger tickets, and excursion fare increases of $1.75 in the off-season and $2.75 in the summer, have drawn particular opposition from the Oak Bluffs select board, which sent a letter to the Steamship Authority last month asking the board of governors to reconsider the hikes.
The Dukes County commission is facilitating the budget meeting and said that the Island’s representatives on the Steamship board and advisory port council will be on hand.
Thursday’s budget open house also will be available online, according to an announcement on the Steamship Authority website.
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