Aquinnah Town Meeting: What You Need to Know

The Aquinnah town meeting takes place tonight, May 8th. The special town meeting starts at 6:45 pm, followed by the annual town meeting at 7 pm.

The meeting location is the Old Town Hall in Aquinnah.

Town moderator Michael Hebert will preside over the session

The eight-article special town meeting includes the following:

• A request to transfer $50,400 from the town’s stabilization fund for storm water drainage and erosion control at the town landfill
• A request to simplify the permitting process for small building projects such as sheds and outdoor showers

The 23-article town meeting warrant includes the following:

• Approval of a $175,000 general override
• A request for a 16 per cent salary increase for town administrator Adam Wilson meant to bring his salary in line with the town’s classification plan.
• A request for an increase for the fire chief’s salary (from $5,000 to $10,000
• A request for $25,000 for four new Scott Air Packs and four air cylinders for the fire department
• A request to put $50,000 in the Dukes County Other Post-Employment Benefit trust for future town employee retirement benefits
• A request to put $150,000 in community preservation funds toward ongoing repairs to various projects
• A proposed town bylaw that would require taxi drivers, managers of beer and wine licenses, peddling and ice cream truck vendors to be subject to a criminal background check.

Aquinnah’s town budget is $3.4 million, an increase of nine per cent over last year.