On Tuesday night Edgartown voters will decide whether to take the first steps to withdraw from the Martha’s Vineyard Commission, marking the first time in nearly a decade for an Island town to seriously consider withdrawal from the Island’s only regional planning agency.

The article is one of six on a special town meeting warrant. The meeting begins at 7 p.m. in the Old Whaling Church; longtime moderator Philip J. Norton Jr. will preside over the session.

There has been scant public discussion about the MVC withdrawal article, which was placed on the warrant by the town selectmen following an exchange with their appointed representative to the commission last month over the commission’s budget. Town representative James Joyce told the board that he thought the town should withdraw from the commission because its assessment is too high and unfairly weighted. The selectmen agreed. There has been no public hearing on the matter, and Tuesday night will mark the first opportunity for open public discussion on the question.

Withdrawal from the commission requires several steps; the article asks voters to approve petitioning the state legislature to withdraw, which is the first step. If the question is approved, it will trigger a process involving the legislature and public hearings. If the legislature approves the question, it would return to the town for a second vote at a town meeting.

Oak Bluffs was the last town to consider withdrawal from the commission during the heated period nearly 10 years ago when townspeople were bitterly divided over a golf course development that was under review by the commission. At a spring town meeting in 2002 Oak Bluffs voters approved taking the first step to withdraw the commission; the question was ultimately defeated at a subsequent town meeting.

The withdrawal question in Edgartown has its roots in a discussion about the town’s assessment for its share of the commission’s budget, one of six such shares paid by Island towns.

The assessments are determined using a formula based on equalized property valuations; the formula is laid out in the commission’s enabling legislation.

Because of its comparatively large land area, Edgartown pays the highest assessment of the six towns, but since the amount is spread among more property owners, it does not mean that individual taxpayers pay more than their counterparts in other towns.

In the latest draft budget for the commission, Edgartown’s assessment is about $286,000, and is unchanged from last year.

Mr. Joyce has suggested changing the assessment formula to make it based half on population size and half on equalized valuations. Any change in the formula would also require an act of the state legislature.

The selectmen say the article is meant to act as an opinion poll of sorts among voters about whether they approve of the commission.

Edgartown withdrew from the commission in 1978 and rejoined again in 1984.

Other articles on the warrant Tuesday include a conservation land swap that is aimed at clearing the way for renovations on a historic World War II hangar at the Katama Airpark. The project requires amending a conservation restriction held by The Nature Conservancy, which in turn requires an act of the state legislature. The current plan calls for adding 21.2 acres off Pennywise Path to town conservation holdings in exchange for amending the restriction at Katama to allow the hangar expansion. The swap is still subject to approval by The Nature Conservancy; the town will then have to petition the state legislature to allow the change. Voters will need to pass two articles to approve the change.

Voters will also be asked to approve a management restructuring plan at the town council on aging following a series of internal personnel problems and subsequent review earlier this year. The changes were recommended by Robert Wasserman, who conducted the review.

The selectmen will also ask voters to allow them to enter into a long-term agreement with the Cape and Vineyard Electric Cooperative to begin an ambitious, large-scale solar panel project that would provide power for town buildings.

The town is hoping to sign contracts soon with construction companies to being installing the large panels; final sites for the panels are still being determined. The cooperative plans to oversee the project on the town’s behalf.

And finally, voters will be asked to approve the purchase of new pumps for low-pressure sewers being installed in the Island Grove subdivision. The pumps will be paid for by any surplus grant funds originally appropriated at an October 2009 special town meeting, with supplemental payments from the residents of Island Grove.