Five months into the fiscal year, the town of Edgartown has finally voted to pay its overdue annual assessment to the Martha’s Vineyard Commission.

At a special town meeting Tuesday night that was notable for its speed and unanimity, town residents voted to pay the $274,000 bill for the 2010 assessment with funds from the free cash account. At the annual town meeting last April, the commission assessment was placed on the town ballot as a Proposition 2 1/2 override. The move was originally meant as a symbolic gesture to represent the town’s dissatisfaction with the commission’s budget process.

But the question failed in the ballot box, and the assessment, which is mandatory, went unpaid. A question was placed on the warrant for a special town meeting in June, but that meeting did not achieve a quorum.

On Tuesday night 168 voters turned out, 11 more than needed for a quorum. The article on the commission assessment was first and this time around it passed with little discussion. “They put it on the override to send a message of concern on the budget. I think they were probably surprised when it didn’t pass,” said commission executive director Mark London after the meeting. “We’re pleased that this has been resolved.”

Voters acted on the remaining 13 articles with dispatch. They sanctioned the idea of leasing the old Edgartown School building to the all-Island school committee for use as the new office of the superintendent of schools, with other areas of the school to be used as classrooms for special programming and a community theater. When a lease is drawn up, it will be subject to a vote at a future town meeting.

Voters agreed to take some $500,000 from free cash, including:

• $130,000 for cost of living adjustments for town employees;

• $58,000 to replace two police cruisers for the police department;

• $23,000 for a new phone system in the town hall;

• $10,000 for a new outboard motor for the shellfish department;

• $6,700 for various fire department inspections.

Voters also agreed to take the first steps to back an $800,000 sewer expansion project in the Island Grove subdivision. The project is contingent on the town receiving federal stimulus grant money, and voter approval to override Proposition 2 1/2 next April.

Town taxpayers are expected to ultimately be responsible for about $80,000 of the cost.

Also at the meeting technology administrator Adam Darack announced that the town has activated an emergency notification system using text messages. For more information or to sign up for the service, residents can visit the town Web site (edgartown-ma.us/cms/).