Adam Wilson may be leaving as town administrator, but he’ll still have ties to the town.
By a vote of 75-57, Mr. Wilson was elected Wednesday to the board of assessors, replacing long-time assessor Michael Stutz. The race of the board of assessors was the only contested race on the ballot and it was a contentious one.
Assessors have sparred with the board of selectmen in recent months over the role of the elected board. Selectmen even proposed changing the board from elected to appointed to get more control over it, but that fell apart as they scheduled a ballot question within a day of the town meeting. State law requires a 60-day separation between the two votes.
The town election attracted 38 percent of the town’s 354 registered voters, Town Clerk Carolyn Feltz said.
By a vote of 66-65, voters also approved a $110,000 Proposition 2½ budget. The tax increase was needed to meet the town’s operational needs, town officials told the Times before the election. Public safety and education increases drove the need for the tax hike.
The boost in the budget will result in an additional $81 per year in taxes for a home valued at $600,000, the town’s average.
Meanwhile, voters also approved two non-binding ballot questions — one that seeks to ban mopeds on the Island by an overwhelming 128-4 and the other meant to endorse a regional housing bank on the Vineyard, which was approved 106-20.
