Potholes in roads will go without repairs, town beaches will have no lifeguards, more dogs may be running loose and fewer police officers will be directing traffic this summer in Oak Bluffs, as the town begins to feel the effects of bone-deep budget cuts from this spring.

In April town voters rejected 11 different Proposition 2 1/2 override articles totaling $650,000. As a result, town employees are being asked to do more with less just as the busy summer season arrives.

With the start of the fiscal year still a month away, town leaders are already discussing a wide range of cost-cutting measures that include possibly closing the town hall one day a week and work furloughs for town employees.

But the most immediate effect of the budget cuts are layoffs.

After voters rejected money to restore an assistant shellfish constable position, shellfish constable David Grunden has been forced to work extra hours just to keep up. At a recent selectmen’s meeting, Mr. Grunden said he may have to cut some of the services his department offers.

“Having suffered a 40 per cent cut in staff hours for the next fiscal year, there are things that will have to be deleted,” Mr. Grunden said. The health department will lose administrative assistant Natalie Woodruff. The same is true for the assessors department, which will begin the new fiscal year on July 1 without an administrative assistant.

And for the second year in a row, town beaches will have no lifeguards.

Especially hard hit is the police department. At a selectmen’s meeting last Tuesday, Chief Erik Blake described the effects of the deep cuts this year.

To begin with, Chief Blake said he will hire two parking and traffic officers this year, compared to four in previous years.

“I have begun letting organizations around town know what services will be reduced due to budget cuts,” the chief told selectmen. “Those that are affected are the hospital, the road race committee — and we aren’t doing public safety day this year, unfortunately. We also will not be doing the youth or citizens academy. We met with the Steamship Authority and highlighted exactly what will be happening . . . we always provide officers to come into the parking areas and help, but that was when we had four of them. We told them there aren’t four this year, there are only two. We just don’t have as much personnel this year as we’ve had in the past.”

Following the meeting, the chief said his department still might have to lay off a full-time officer. And he plans to require a furlough for at least one officer. “We are definitely facing losing an officer for a long period of time this fiscal year,” he said, adding:

“Our summer staffing is at a record low. The goal is to have enough coverage to safely cover the downtown needs. However, some calls of a less urgent manner may have to wait until an officer is free to answer it. Our ability to accomplish things that we normally take great pride in may suffer,” he said.

Some examples, he said, include clearing traffic at the ferry terminal and after major events, and responding to noise calls at peak hours. “Again, I want to ensure everyone that we will do the best job possible with the resources we have,” he said.

The town also no longer has a full-time animal control officer. After Heather Jaglowski stepped down from the job last year, the town opted not to replace her. The police department now covers the position on an on-call basis.

“We do have an animal control officer,” Chief Blake said.

Then there is the matter of town roads. This marks the second year that funding has been cut from the highway department’s road repair program, meaning many potholes around town will continue to get bigger for at least another year.

“One road that really needs help is Dukes County avenue,” highway superintendent Richard Combra Jr. said. “And it’s in bad shape — a lot of potholes and cracking. We were planning a resurfacing project and sidewalk project there, but now that’s off.”

Mr. Combra said he had planned to spend about $400,000 this year to repair roads all around town — $250,000 was to come from the town and $150,000 from the state department of transportation. “But if you don’t raise the money at the local level, the state doesn’t pitch in. That’s the problem,” he said.

He said the problem extends beyond the obvious extra wear and tear on tires and undercarriages.

“I don’t think people realize that failing to maintain the town’s infrastructure is something that can hurt our bond rating. The bond companies watch closely how the towns spend their money. And if your infrastructure is in dire need of repair, that can hurt your bond rating,” he said.

Mr. Combra has done his part to help; two years ago he volunteered to take $200,000 from the road repair account to give to the Oak Bluffs School to avoid an override. But the town cannot put off roads repairs much longer, he said.

“The more you wait, the more these repairs cost. The price of asphalt, for example, goes up an average of 10 to 15 per cent each year. Another problem is some of the roads are getting so bad we might not be able to just repave them. Sometimes a road gets so bad you have to grind it down and regrade it . . . that ends up costing a whole lot more.”

Town administrator Michael Dutton said the selectmen and finance committee continue to look for ways to save money. He said office hours may be cut in some departments, beginning with the finance offices.

“It would be wise for people to call ahead if they want to meet the tax collector, assessor or accountant,” Mr. Dutton said.

Closing the town hall one day week is also under consideration, to save on operating costs.

“We probably wouldn’t do that during the summer,” Mr. Dutton said, adding: “But if we do take that step, town hall would be closed on Mondays or Fridays, allowing the building to shut down, so we can save on things like heat and electricity.”

He said the town information and technology consultant will make sure computers are shut down at night when not in use.

As for work furloughs, they would require negotiations with employee unions. “That’s not a perfect solution, but it will save money. Many towns and cities across the state — and the country, for that matter — are implementing furloughs to cut spending. If we go in that direction, we would not be alone,” Mr. Dutton said.

And he said the town continues to look seriously at joining other towns to regionalize some services. Preliminary talks have been held with Tisbury about combining the shellfish and police departments.

“I think you will see more discussion in the months and years to come about providing regional service on the Vineyard,” Mr. Dutton said. “For years people have opposed that sort of thing here, but I think the pendulum is about to swing the other way.”