West Tisbury selectmen on Wednesday took the first step toward qualifying the town as a green community under the state’s year-old Green Communities Act, which may translate to state grant money and technical assistance for the installation of renewable energy equipment like windmills and solar paneling.

The board voted 3-0 to send a letter of commitment to the Green Community Grant Program to start the process, although not before some debate. Selectman Richard Knabel said he doubted the town could meet five criteria in time to meet the deadline for applications on August 7, and raised concerns about the vague and ambiguous language of the criteria.

Although both the two other selectmen agreed the criteria were unclear, in the end all three agreed to send a letter of commitment to get the ball rolling.

Sander Shapiro, a member of the energy committee, brought the request to the selectmen and explained the state allows a good deal of leeway, and will consider an application if a town puts forward a “good faith effort” to meet the criteria. One would require the town to adopt an as-of-right area for renewable energy equipment like windmills, and another requires the town to adopt an expedited application permitting process for green energy projects.

Other requirements call for the town to adopt a program to reduce baseline energy use by 20 per cent over five years, and commit to purchase fuel-efficient vehicles. The final criteria requires newer residential construction over 3,200 square feet and all new commercial construction to minimize life-cycle energy costs.

Gov. Deval Patrick signed the Green Communities Act last July in an effort to reduce electrical bills, promote the development of renewable energy and stimulate the clean energy industry. One of the goals of the law is to help energy efficiency programs compete in the market with traditional energy supply. It also provides technical support and additional funding for towns enrolled in the program.

Mr. Knabel said he supports the concept of the Green Community Grant Program, but feels the town needs to do a lot of work before signing on. “I’m not so sure we are prepared to do this right now . . . some of these changes would have to go to the planning board . . . some would need voter approval,” he said.

Selectman Jeffrey (Skipper) Manter agreed.

“I think we’re all in favor of reducing our dependence on the grid, but one or two of these criteria seem to create real permitting issues,” he said.

Board chairman Dianne Powers said sending a commitment letter will preserve the option of joining the program later. “The question is should we send a [commitment letter] in a timely manner saying this is all we can commit to right now . . . if voters cannot support [certain] criteria then we can’t move forward,” she said.

In other town news, selectmen approved new taxi rates after three weeks of deliberations. The new rates will go into effect on Saturday and will remain in effect until August 1 of next year.

The new rates are comparable to the current rates, although some fares have been reduced and the overall rate structure has been simplified. In the past, selectmen have approved a set of maximum rates for the town’s three taxi companies, but this has allowed companies to charge different fares, creating confusion among customers.

“The problem is you had someone getting in a cab at the airport, and if they took three different cabs on three different days they could be charged three different rates,” executive secretary Jennifer Rand said.

The new taxi rates set specific fares for specific locations, which in theory should compel all three companies to charge the same amount.

A ride from the airport to Scrubby Neck Road, for example, will cost $15; a ride from the Lambert’s Cove Inn to the Vineyard Haven ferry terminal will cost $30, and the fare from Indian Hill Road to the Oak Bluffs ferry terminal is set at $35.