Long-simmering resentments between two key elected bodies in Tisbury spilled over this week as members of the select board and the planning board accused one another of incivility and disrespect.

At an emotionally-charged select board meeting Tuesday afternoon, member John Cahill and town administrator Joseph LaCivita read from statements chastising planning board chair Casey Hayward for adversarial statements on social media and in public.

“I felt personally, I was very disrespected,” Mr. Cahill said, referring to a Sept. 17 planning board meeting at which Ms. Hayward lashed out at him angrily over a warrant article for funding to improve a town-owned house at the Tashmoo water works.

“I wasn’t looking for support from the planning board. I was doing it as a courtesy to let them know what I was planning to offer at the town meeting,” he said.

“I was really disappointed … but I can tell you what happened after was really outrageous and over the top,” Mr. Cahill said, in reference to a series of cut-and-paste images known as memes that Ms. Hayward posted on social media, referring to him and Mr. LaCivita by name and accusing both of bribery in the form of housing at the Tashmoo residence.

Mr. LaCivita described one of the memes, which also was displayed onscreen during the hybrid meeting.

“On this post was a photo of money, as well as me wearing a royal crown, and [it] implied that I was accepting bribes and considered myself a king,” he said.

The meme also showed photos of the Tashmoo building and the White House in Washington, D.C.

“It was an actual attempt to defame my character. I’ll have a hard time to trust this individual as we move forward, trying to work together, as I know their intentions… can be malicious,” LaCivita said.

Both men also criticized Ms. Hayward’s smiling facial expression during their statements, with Mr. Cahill accusing her of “smirking.”

A defiant Ms. Hayward dismissed their complaints.

“I appreciate the pearl-clutching and crocodile tears … but I am paying for [Mr. LaCivita’s] house,” she began, before acting select board chair Roy Cutrer cut in to redirect her comments.

“That’s not what we’re here for,” he said. 

“You can continue your statement, but it should be about your conduct at that meeting, and not your opinions,” Mr. Cutrer said.

Ms. Hayward went on to charge the select board and Mr. LaCivita of sidelining the planning board from its role in town government.

“There’s been several occasions, and they’re getting more frequent, where I have been left out as the chair of the planning board from meetings that I should have attended, that I was not invited to. I get forwarded emails that are addressed ‘Gentlemen,’” she said.

Ms. Hayward also accused town government of failing to respond to her requests for information and participation, including in the case of planning board administrator Amy Upton, who was named earlier this year as a defendant in a since-dismissed conspiracy lawsuit by developer Xerxes Aghassipour.

“I’m still waiting to be followed up with Joe LaCivita on many different cases. I have been stonewalled by this select board since I began as chair,” Ms. Hayward said.

On Oct. 21, Mr. LaCivita informed Ms. Upton that she will be reporting to town building commissioner Gregory Monka instead of to Ms. Hayward.

At Tuesday’s meeting, Ms. Hayward referred to her social media memes as political cartoons that are protected by the First Amendment, implying that town government cannot curb their use.

“And no, I will not apologize,” she concluded.

Longtime planning board member and former chair Ben Robinson concurred with Ms. Hayward that town leadership has not been responsive to the board.

“The planning board, over the last year and a half, two years, has been getting very little respect,” Mr. Robinson said.

He also told the select board that Ms. Hayward’s behavior towards Mr. Cahill on Sept. 17 was no worse than other public meeting conflicts he has seen over the years.

“People disagree. People get hot,” he said.

Sitting nearby, former planning board member Elaine Miller wept as she spoke.

“This is so upsetting for this town,” she said, apologizing for her tears. 

The hostile atmosphere between town administration and the planning board led her to resign, said Ms. Miller, who stepped down in 2024 with a year left to her term.

“Something is missing. Something is totally missing for us to be going through this. We are a town where we have to be united in everything we do, no matter where our opinions are,” she said.

Rachel Orr, who serves alongside Ms. Miller on the town’s elected finance and advisory committee, also fought tears as she addressed the select board.

“I have long been very upset at the antagonistic behaviors I’ve seen at public hearings,” Ms. Orr said.

“It happens at a lot of meetings. People get hot and get really rude to members of the public who are trying to speak their truth,” she said.

The Tisbury select board is expected to vote on an updated code of conduct and social media policy for officials and employees at its public meeting on Nov. 18.

Board chair Christina Colarusso was absent Tuesday.