Tisbury voters passed a hefty budgetary override and approved expansion of its select board, bringing to a close their 2026 annual town meeting just before 11 pm Wednesday.
On the second night of deliberating town warrant articles, more than 115 voters returned to the Tisbury School gymnasium to cast their votes.
Article 41, the $43.8 million FY 2027 operating budget, was passed after some debate by residents that included criticism of a 5 percent cut across the board to town departments proposed by Town Administrator Joseph LaCavita, and concerns about Tisbury’s share of the Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School renovation costs. The article also includes a $1 million Proposition 2½ override that will appear on the town election ballot on May 12.
Article 28, authorizing the town to borrow $3 million for expansions of the sewer collection system in the State Road Sewer District, passed with little discussion. The borrowing also requires voter approval of another Proposition 2½ override on the May 12 ballot.
Article 34, a citizen petition to expand the select board from three to five members, passed on a standing vote, 66–51. Many residents echoed support to increase the limit, citing that it would increase communication, bring more expertise, and reduce workload on current members.
“I full-heartedly support moving to five,” said Ben Robinson, planning board member.
Even though the increase passed on the town meeting floor, Tisbury won’t actually have a five-member select board until after May 2027. The select board’s next step is to file a home rule petition with the Massachusetts legislature. The petition will go through a legislative process in Boston, where it must be approved by the state House of Representatives and Senate, then signed by the governor. A special election ballot question will be held in Tisbury if the petition is approved, which is expected to be in January or February 2027. At the annual town election in May 2027, voters will need to approve a special ballot question to officially change the select board to five members.
John Cahill, select board member, expressed caution about expanding the board to five members, describing it as “a significant structural change.” He warned that it could lead to more uncontested elections, and a larger risk of creating cliques or fractures in the select board, and said that in a small, close-knit town like Tisbury, a three-member board is in most cases more efficient, intimate, and accountable.
Another article that had a noticeably close standing vote was Article 19, which would have transferred $1 million to the general stabilization fund to bolster the town’s reserves for emergencies, unexpected expenses, and future budget gaps, but it failed on a 56–55 standing vote.
Voters also approved Article 33, a citizen petition, introduced by members of the Martha’s Vineyard Fourth Amendment Project (MV 4A), including co-founder Batya Diamond, that proposed to designate Tisbury as a “Fourth Amendment Workplace Community.” The nonbinding resolution was passed overwhelmingly by voters.
The MV 4A Project, part of a national movement, aims to encourage businesses and organizations on Martha’s Vineyard to become “Fourth Amendment Workplaces,” to affirm their support for constitutional rights, and to protect their workers from unreasonable searches and seizures. The movement formed in response to heightened federal immigration enforcement in which agents were accused of breaking detainees’ rights.
Additionally, $12 million in borrowing for a new water storage tank was approved (Article 25), $250,000 for municipal financial recovery services passed (Article 12), and $85,000 to remove the abandoned vessel Seeker (Article 8) failed after a motion to take no action was approved.
Voters also had significant discussion over Article 14, which authorized more than $1.1 million in capital spending for a variety of town projects and equipment, including funding for software upgrades and building repairs in town, funding to repair and heat the Tisbury Emergency Services Building, funding for the Tisbury Police Station and the town hall, $320,000 toward repairs to the historic Skiff Avenue stone wall, and $100,000 to begin addressing an invasive Southern pine beetle outbreak. Residents raised questions about several items, such as whether the removal of the pitch pine is really a solution to the beetles, and whether the stone wall qualifies as historic; Bow Van Riper, Martha’s Vineyard Museum research librarian, clarified that it is a historically significant and unique structure to New England from the 1890–1920 period. A motion to take no action on the stone wall failed, and the entire article was passed as written.
Voters are now set to decide the $1 million operating budget override and the sewer debt exclusion on the May 12 ballot. The election will be held at the Tisbury Emergency Services Building, and includes various candidates for voters to cast ballots for, including in a contested select board race.