Oak Bluffs annual includes $20.4 million budget

By Ezra Blair - April 6, 2006

A balanced $20.4 million budget, a number of spending items, and a list of proposed zoning bylaw changes top the 23-article Oak Bluffs annual town meeting warrant.

The quintessential exercise in representative democracy begins immediately following the special town meeting that begins at 7 pm in the Martha's Vineyard Regional High School Performing Arts Center and is preceded by the Oak Bluffs Water District annual meeting at 6:30 pm.

Two days later, on April 13, Oak Bluffs voters go to the polls at the Oak Bluffs School to elect town officers and take action on two non-binding ballot questions and one proposition 2.5 spending question.

Voters at the annual town meeting will be asked to approve a $20.4 million operating budget for fiscal year 2007, which begins July 1, 2006. The budget is an increase of four percent from the current fiscal year budget.

Casey Sharpe, Oak Bluffs town administrator, commended the selectmen, the finance committee, and the town department heads for their efforts in keeping the budget in balance. "Everybody should get credit," she said. "It was a joint effort... We knew that we faced some fixed cost, insurance, and other things that were out of our control, but we did everything we could to limit the operations. I would have to say the police, the school, and the highway department did a really excellent job at holding the line."

Many of the spending requests are funded through the town's free cash reserves or other special accounts.

For example, voters will be asked to spend money derived from a legislatively imposed 50-cent surcharge on each one-way ferry passenger ticket on the training and staffing of summer police officers.

If approved, $10,000 from free cash, excess revenues carried over from the previous year would be used to pay for dredging the channel under the so-called "Little Bridge" on Beach Road. The channel, which is one of two that connect Sengekontacket Pond to Nantucket Sound, requires regular dredging to maintain the tidal flushing of the pond.

Article seven, another free cash transfer, asks for $7,000 to match a state grant for the Martha's Vineyard Drug Task Force.

Article 8 asks voters to spend $20,000 from the town's stabilization fund to pay the town's share of the Massachusetts Estuaries Project. The money will be used to pay for the study of the environmental health of Farm Pond.

Ms. Sharpe said that the selectmen agreed to use the stabilization fund to pay for the project because they see it as a critical item. "Water quality is of critical concern," she said.

Article 10 asks voters to transfer the necessary funds to pay for the residential placement, tuition and transportation cost for Oak Bluffs students. The article does not set a specific amount for the transfer.

Article 23 is the last spending article on the annual town meeting warrant. It asks voters to fix the compensation of for a number of elected town officials. The stipends would include: $325 for the town moderator; $4,500 for the chairman of the board of selectmen; $3,000 for the other selectmen; and $500 for the town constables. The article would also set the annual salaries for the town collector and the town clerk at $49,371 and $58,371 respectively.

Non-spending articles
Non-spending requests make up the majority of articles on the annual town meeting warrant and include several proposed changes in zoning bylaws as well as a request to add two more seats to the Oak Bluffs zoning board of appeals (ZBA) to make it a five-member board.

Article nine asks voters to revise the boundaries of the Oak Bluffs Cottage City Historic District to include East Chop.

Four separate articles propose to make several changes to the zoning bylaws regarding accessory structures and accessory uses. If passed, the articles would set the rules and regulations for pools, tents, and detached bedrooms. Other minor changes would "clean up" the language of existing bylaws, Ms. Sharpe said.

Article 19 would add a health-care district to the town. Oak Bluffs had a health-care district in the past, but several years ago, after a thorough revamping of the zoning bylaws, the district was eliminated. However, last year the town approved a regulation to limit the height of buildings in the health-care district to two stories. Ms. Sharpe said that article 19 would simply reinsert the health-care district.

Article 20 would amend the zoning bylaws to limit the height of buildings in the B1 district to 35 feet, "except for the purpose of restoring or reproducing Victorian architectural features." The bylaw gives the ZBA the authority to grant special permits for buildings up to 40 feet tall.

Article 5, one of the lengthiest articles on the warrant, is a housekeeping item. It asks voters to approve a bylaw change that voters already passed at a previous town meeting. The change is to the laws concerning failure to pay municipal charges. Cheryll Sashin, Oak Bluffs tax collector, said that the changes have already been put into effect, but need to be made official for the town's records.

Articles 21 and 22 ask voters to weigh in on two non-biding resolutions.

Article 21, submitted by the town shellfish department and conservation commission, asks voters to "give careful consideration to the upcoming results of the Massachusetts Estuaries Project," and "to support all credible recommendations to protect our ponds, embayment and drinking water from nitrogen and other pollutants, and work with other Island towns to restore and preserve the quality of our waters." The resolution includes a question on the annual town election ballot.

Article 22, submitted by the selectmen, asks voters whether or not the town should "pursue the development of the area at School Street and Pacific Avenue as a 'municipal campus' for the town of Oak Bluffs." The article will be accompanied by a question on the annual town meeting ballot.

In the past, town leaders have tried to generate support for a town campus at the new town hall. Part of the plan included the new library, which was completed last year. Other possible aspects of the campus include a new or renovated town hall as well as a new police station. However, the town campus plan was dealt a blow at the annual town meeting last April, when voters rejected a request for $250,000 to develop a design for a new town hall or a renovation plan for the existing facility.

Two articles on the special town meeting warrant also pertain to possible town campus planning. They ask voters to approve two proposed land swaps for land in the vicinity of the town hall.