Amid ongoing talks about the distribution of some $3 million from the American Rescue Plan Act, the Dukes County Commission pushed back this week against inquiries from the county advisory board over its own jurisdiction in the process.
The county will return $250,000 in surplus funds to the six Island towns this year, following an audit that turned up extra money in county coffers.
After a wide-ranging discussion about the poor condition of the Edgartown courthouse due to deferred maintenance, the Dukes County advisory board voted this week to put $150,000 toward repairs on the 1858 brick building that stands in the center of town.
The advisory board voted unanimously Wednesday to move $150,000 from the county budget reserve fund into a newly created capital expenditures fund. The vote took place during a joint session of the county advisory board and the county commissioners.
The Dukes County commission voted this week to approve a $1.5 million budget for the coming fiscal year.
The budget marks a 17.9 per cent decrease over last year due to the state takeover of administrative affairs for the county sheriff’s department. Last year the sheriff’s portion of the county budget totalled $300,000.
Under the upcoming budget, total town assessments will drop from $649,279 to $492,739, county manager Martina Thornton told the commission at their meeting Wednesday.
The Dukes County advisory board this week approved a $4.4 million county budget for fiscal year 2006 with one caveat - the $25,000 earmarked for legal expenses cannot be used to fund future rounds in the ongoing legal battle between the county commission and the airport commission.