Boards of health across the Vineyard are considering using federal opioid settlements to fund an Islandwide substance use disorder coordinator position. 

The Dukes County government is looking into the potential of changing a state finance law so it could have a more stable rainy day fund.

Representatives from the town of Edgartown and the Dukes County Commission made pitches to take over ownership of the former Land Bank headquarters in Edgartown.

About two dozen Dukes County workers have until Oct. 30 to show they are fully vaccinated or apply for a legal exemption under a newly-enacted vaccination mandate.

County leaders approved a $1.75 million county budget for the upcoming fiscal year, which includes $62,960 to offset a deficit due to the loss of alarm fee revenue.

A $1.9 million county budget for the coming fiscal year will include a modest expenditure to battle substance abuse disorders on the Vineyard.

The county will return $250,000 in surplus funds to the six Island towns this year, following an audit that turned up extra money in county coffers.

The Dukes County commission voted this week to approve a $1.5 million budget for the coming fiscal year.
The budget marks a 17.9 per cent decrease over last year due to the state takeover of administrative affairs for the county sheriff’s department. Last year the sheriff’s portion of the county budget totalled $300,000.
Under the upcoming budget, total town assessments will drop from $649,279 to $492,739, county manager Martina Thornton told the commission at their meeting Wednesday.

In its management of Norton Point Beach, which is owned by Dukes County, the Trustees of Reservations produced a net surplus of $16,785 in the last fiscal year.

The county will receive more than $3,000 of that money through an agreement with the conservation group. Two years ago, the county enlisted the help of the Trustees to manage Norton Point beach with an agreement that the county would receive 20 per cent of what the group earned at the public beach.

The Dukes County advisory board this week approved a $4.4 million county budget for fiscal year 2006 with one caveat - the $25,000
earmarked for legal expenses cannot be used to fund future rounds in the
ongoing legal battle between the county commission and the airport
commission.