Emotions ran high at a West Tisbury special town meeting Tuesday night where voters continued the ongoing debate over town rules relating to dog ownership. First voters rejected a proposal to strengthen the town leash law, and then split on the question of whether to pay for enforcement of a new rule that will restrict dogs at Lambert’s Cove Beach in the summer months.

A total of 184 voters turned out for the special session that lasted just over two hours.

The first half of the meeting was spent discussing a proposal to strengthen the town leash law by requiring dogs to be leashed on town property at all times. The article would have amended a 1975 bylaw by also imposing a schedule of fines for violators.

Some voters said the amendment is poorly worded and needs more work.

“I understand using the law to protect people from dogs who are violent or from owners who are unwilling to pick up dog waste, etcetera, but I don’t understand the notion of everybody around town suddenly being subject to fines if a dog is off a leash, at all,” Henry Geller said.

“It’s a sloppily written law and dog owners and the town government ought to get together and work on something that address how dogs live in this town and what the town is like,” said Susanna Sturgis.

But Joan Jenkinson, the longtime town animal control officer, urged voters to pass the amended bylaw so she “could do her job. . . It makes good sense to keep dogs safe and the community safe, and I can attend to problems when they happen. I’m not going to go around busting you guys or your dogs. That’s not the way I do my job . . . but there are a lot more backyard farms with livestock nowadays and people growing their own food and they have to be protected too.”

Jim Aven, representing the volunteer group Friends of Lambert’s Cove Beach, had another view.

“I appreciate that the leash laws have merit to saving dogs lives and livestock . . . but our group rejects this leash law,” he said. “The law is too invasive and restrictive — this is the wrong leash law at the wrong time.”

In the end the article was killed by indefinite postponement.

Voters acted on four other articles relating to a bylaw amendment adopted at the annual town meeting in April that will allow people to walk their dogs on Lambert’s Cove Beach in the morning hours from June 15 to Sept. 15. On Tuesday voters were asked to approve a $9,100 parking attendant position for the evening hours, when dogs will not be allowed on the beach. That request was approved but voters balked at spending $6,500 for a summer assistant animal control officer whose job would be to patrol the beach in the morning hours.

Gary Montrowl said he wanted to hold the friends volunteer group to its promise from earlier this year to pay for a monitor position.

“I’m going to tell you I feel there’s been a great deal of dishonesty in this discussion,” said Mr. Montrowl. “When the issue was raised during the winter we were given great assurances as voters of West Tisbury that the funding would be provided by the Friends of Lambert’s Cove Beach. However, in good faith, I think you are now hiding behind that in order not to incur the additional cost which are going to be borne by West Tisbury. Had the voters known that, they would have voted differently . . . this is a tyranny of the dog community.”

In other, far less contentious business, voters readily agreed to spend up to $46,000 to contribute to the town’s share for paving the parking lot between the library and Howes House. The parking lot project is part of the new library building planned for construction this coming fall, and satisfies a restriction that limits the amount of paving allowed.

Voters also agreed to transfer $12,000 to pay for a new summer basketball program at the West Tisbury school and $8,300 for the town’s share of Tri-Town Ambulance Service staff training.