Amid growing concerns over finances in Aquinnah, town officials have taken steps to form the town’s first finance committee since 2010.

In a handwritten letter dated Sept. 10, town administrator Adam Wilson asked a large number of residents to consider joining the committee, which would advise the selectmen on town finances each year. Two individuals have agreed to join, and the committee needs one more member, according to the letter. The names have not been made public.

The letter also asks residents to consider joining a parks and recreation committee that was revived last year, and a committee to oversee capital planning.

At their meeting Tuesday, the selectmen welcomed what they saw as a high level of interest, but did not name the applicants. Mr. Wilson said after the meeting that questions should be directed to town moderator Michael Hebert, who is responsible for appointing the finance committee members. Mr. Hebert did not immediately respond to an inquiry from the Gazette.

Some residents this year have complained that their applications to serve on the finance committee were unfairly dismissed, although Mr. Hebert and others have argued that none of the applicants were qualified.

Mr. Wilson said about six of the 184 residents contacted have expressed an interest in serving on the finance committee, and another six on the parks and recreation committee.

Meanwhile, town assessor Angela Cywinski has projected an 82 per cent increase in the town’s tax rate by 2026, which some say further underscores the need for financial oversight in town. The tax rate has increased about 80 per cent since 2006 — more than the state average of about 50 per cent and more than any other Island town.

Speaking to the Gazette this week, Ms. Cywinski said she believed Aquinnah’s townwide district of critical planning concern (DCPC), which limits development and the rate of growth, and contributions to Tri-Town Ambulance and other regional services have caused unsustainable spending. Her projections show that at the current rate, annual budget overrides could reach $420,000 by 2026.

“I was on the Tisbury fincom, and I think they are the most important thing,” Ms. Cywinski said of finance committees in general. “When people come to town meeting, they don’t know what is going on. They rely on fincom recommendations.”

A 2006 audit by the Department of Revenue recommended monthly meetings among the town’s financial department heads, but Michael Stutz, chairman of the board of assessors, has complained that Ms. Cywinski has been excluded from those meetings for two or three years. He agreed that certain regional agreements were largely to blame for the spending increases, but he also believed that regionalizing the town’s public safety departments and other functions could save about $500,000 a year. He also noted a failed attempt years ago to pass legislation that would have greatly increased the town’s federal impact aid for education (about $11,000 now comes to the town every year). He plans to recommend finding a volunteer or hiring a professional to pursue the funds.

Mr. Stutz joined others in advocating for a finance committee, although he questioned the recent outreach effort and the selectmen’s ability to appoint members objectively. “They are already manipulating the committee,” he said this week.

Mr. Wilson declined to comment on the recent projections, saying he has been “left out of the loop” by Mr. Stutz, who planned to air the issue at a board of assessor’s meeting on Wednesday. Mr. Wilson said he did not plan to attend the meeting.

Selectman Jim Newman also declined to comment on the issue.

In other business Tuesday, the selectmen approved a new right of entry to resume the dredging project in Menemsha Channel, which stalled last year when contractor J-Way Inc. missed a Jan. 31 deadline and later failed to remove much of its equipment, including about a mile and a half of piping along Lobsterville Road. The Army Corps of Engineers, which is managing the project, terminated the contract with J-Way in May.

Plans call for sand from the channel to again be pumped along Lobsterville Road to replenish a stretch of beach that was severely damaged during Hurricane Sandy in 2012. Mr. Wilson said he hoped the project would resume in better shape, with staging expected to begin earlier in October. “There will definitely be much more transparency in terms of the overall process,” he said, noting the involvement of a bonding company that he said has hired a new contractor.

In response to an inquiry about the identity of the contractor, the Army Corp of Engineers said this week there were no new developments to report.

The Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head (Aquinnah), working with the town, has received a major federal grant to replace a failed culvert along Lobsterville Road and stabilize the surrounding dunes in the area damaged by Hurricane Sandy. The $275,790 grant was awarded through the EPA’s Southeast New England Program, with a well-attended public ceremony in Bristol, R.I., last Friday.

And a private donor has offered to cover the cost of repainting the entrance to the Aquinnah town hall. In a recent public bidding process for the work, the low bid came in at $3,200.

Also on Tuesday, the selectmen approved a recommendation by the town lighthouse advisory board to establish the hours for Lighthouse Park, a new open space where the Gay Head Light had stood before being moved inland from the eroding cliffs last year. The park will be open year-round from approximately 8 a.m. to an hour after sunset.