West Tisbury selectmen held a hearing on tax rates for 2019, welcomed a new police officer and discussed hiring an extra hand for town maintenance projects last week.

After a briefing from assessor Dawn Barnes, selectmen approved an increase in the tax rate from $6.06 to $6.18 per $1,000 of assessed property value.

“This is due to a 5.6 per cent increase in the levy,” Ms. Barnes said.

The town will maintain a single tax rate for all classes. Ms. Barnes said selectmen could consider adopting separate rates for residential and commercial properties, and board of assessors chairman Michael Colaneri urged selectmen to consider a residential exemption in the future.

Under state law, Island towns can choose to adopt a residential exemption of up to 35 per cent of the average residential property value for year-round residents. Tisbury is the only town on the Island that has a split tax rate with a residential exemption.

“We respectfully request that the board entertain a few public hearings over the course of the next year to see if there is an interest on the part of the taxpayers,” Mr. Colaneri said. “We’re talking about if the residential exemption were granted, savings of many local residents substantial sums of money.”

Ms. Barnes said about half the residential properties in West Tisbury would qualify for the residential exemption.

“Let’s . . . put it on our horizon,” said selectman and board chairman Cynthia Mitchell.

West Tisbury police chief Matthew Mincone announced that Phillip Hollinger will join the force as a new full-time officer. Mr. Mincone said the department received eight applications and conducted six interviews for the position. Mr. Hollinger previously worked as a special officer.

“We already have a pretty good sample of his work ethic and what he’s going to bring to the town and the department,” Mr. Mincone said. Selectmen, who also act as police commissioners, approved the hiring and signed employment documents.

Selectmen also informally approved the hiring of a seasonal employee for the highway department next summer. Highway superintendent Richard Olsen has asked for the extra help due to an increasing work load.

Selectmen discussed the potential cost of replacing the town hall phone system. Town administrator Jen Rand said she had received a preliminary estimate of $120,000 to upgrade the phones. She said despite the high cost, replacing the system is necessary in order to stay current with technological changes. A new system could ultimately save the town money on phone bills, Ms. Rand said.

“This system is aging into complete obsolescence,” she said.

Selectmen decided to ask voters to appropriate half the cost this year and half the cost next year for the project, and hope the system does not fail before then.

“It’s a big chunk of money,” selectman Jeffrey (Skipper) Manter, 3rd said.

The board agreed to renew a lease for two electric vehicles and said it would consider purchasing a hybrid vehicle with four-wheel drive.

Ms. Rand said she would be notifying each town official and board member to copy a record keeper on all emails for town business to keep those correspondences in the public record and on town servers.

Phyllis Meras, who is helping plan the town holiday party, asked that it take place on Dec. 14 rather than December 6 after consulting with members of the community.