As protests against racism and police brutality have spread around the globe in recent weeks, including on the Vineyard, the Chilmark police chief took the floor before the town selectmen Tuesday to offer a few moments of deep self-reflection.

“People aren’t being heard,” police chief Jonathan Klaren said at the online meeting. “We owe it to them, all these people speaking out, to give them our ear and to make improvements.”

Chief Klaren said he was proud of the men and women wearing the Chilmark police uniform for upholding their role as public servants in the community. But as many police departments face a new reckoning, Chief Klaren said he believes reform in both training and protocols will be needed at the local level.

“Our officers are some of the best trained in the country,” the chief said. “Whereas that is true, quite frankly, it’s just not enough right now. We really have to dig and make what is good better. It’s going to take awhile. It is going to happen on many tiers.”

He said his own department is considering further protocol reforms, including around what he called “the peer duty to intervene,” on the use of force, something he said was “glaringly missing” in the incident that led to the death of George Floyd.

He said the six police departments are exploring the possibility of pooling resources to bring additional training to the Island. He also said he had asked his staff to reflect on the protests over the last few weeks, and to keep those thoughts in mind when they encounter members of the public.

“It’s been long days lately and there are more ahead,” the chief said. “As much as we appreciate your support, we acknowledge that it is perishable, and has to be earned daily. We don’t take it for granted . . . we will come out with a better service as a result of this.”

In the first meeting following the annual town meeting and election last week, selectmen did their annual reorganization of the board, handing the chairman’s gavel to Bill Rossi.

In other business, town administrator Tim Carroll said the state Department of Revenue will give the town some leeway on a $511,000 shortfall in tax collection, allowing a 60-day window for collections.

The announcement quelled concerns that the town would fail to meet a July 1 deadline for collecting property taxes. “This is the first time we have had a substantial amount of money outstanding,” Mr. Carroll said. “We will collect this money eventually.”

Down the road, selectmen said a shortfall in this fiscal year could affect surplus funds for next year, which ordinarily add up to about $600,000. No surplus could force the town to seek a Proposition 2 1/2 override, Mr. Carroll said.

But Mr. Rossi the worries could be premature. “I’m not overly concerned,” he said. “I just think we need to continue to look at it each month and see where it is going.”