MassVoter.com← TisburyMunicipal votes · 2025–2026 Board
Tisbury Select Board
How the Tisbury Select Board voted, from the Select Board’s official minutes. 3 Select Board members elected townwide. Christina Colarusso chaired the board; she stopped attending in September 2025 and resigned effective January 28, 2026. Constance Alexander was elected to the seat on May 12, 2026. Minutes are loaded through September 25, 2025, the newest the town has posted (as of October 4, 2026, no 2026 Select Board minutes are online), so Ms. Alexander has no votes here yet. Covers 4 meetings, May 20 to September 25, 2025.
A monthly email on what it voted on, starting in November.
What does the Select Board do? It is the town’s executive board. It prepares the Town Meeting warrant (the list of articles voters decide), appoints members of many town boards, hires the town’s top staff, signs warrants to pay town bills, and grants licenses and permits.
Town Meeting, not the Select Board, votes the town budget and town bylaws.
Sources: Massachusetts Select Board Handbook (MMA) · Mass. Division of Local Services: the town budgetVote Transparency Score
Tisbury Select Board: 5 out of 10 · Partly open
How easy Tisbury makes it to see, online, how each member votes. It scores the town’s records, not any official. Checked October 4, 2026.
- Minutes postedMinutes are posted for only a few of the past year’s meetings.Part points: 1/2
- Each vote namedVotes are roll calls or counts such as “3 in favor, 0 opposed, and 0 abstained”, usually naming anyone who voted no.Part points: 2/3
- Posted quicklyMinutes are posted months after the meeting, if at all.No points: 0/2
- Past years onlineSelect Board minutes from 2020 to today are online.Full points: 1/1
- Readable textRecent minutes are text you can search and copy.Full points: 1/1
- Member photosThe Select Board page has no member photos.No points: 0/1
How the town can raise its score
- Minutes posted (+1): Post approved minutes for every meeting on the town website. Don’t require a sign-in to view them.
- Each vote named (+1): On any vote that isn’t unanimous, write how each member voted. For example: “Motion passed 3–2. Yes: Smith, Jones, Lee. No: Brown, Silva.” A roll call on split votes is the simplest way to do this.
- Posted quickly (+2): Post minutes within 30 days. If approval takes longer, post a draft marked “Draft – not yet approved” and replace it later.
- Member photos (+1): Show a photo of each member on the board’s web page, with their name, the date their term ends and how to contact them. A group photo of the members, with everyone named in the caption or on the same page, earns half a point.
How we score · Something wrong, or has the town made a change? Email info@massvoter.com and we’ll re-check.
A monthly email on its votes, starting in November. We'll also tell you if this score changes.
Board years
Coming up
- Tue, Oct 13Select Board Agenda 10/13/26 →
From the agendas Tisbury posts on its official site. Agendas can change; the posted agenda is the official one.
What Town Meeting decided
In Tisbury, Town Meeting — not the Select Board — votes the town budget, bylaws and zoning. Here is what it did with each article, in the Town Clerk’s own words. Any registered voter can take part, and most votes are by voice or show of hands, so there is no list of who voted which way.
Special Town Meeting · December 17, 2024 7 votes: 5 passed, 1 passed as amended, 1 no action
- Art. 1 Amend the Zoning By-laws on accessory dwelling units Passed “VOTED MAJORITY IN FAVOR”
- Art. 2 Amend the Zoning By-laws to add Section 07.18, Short-Term Rentals Passed “voted by a 2/3 majority in favor”
- Art. 3 Petition the Legislature to add two associate Planning Board members Passed “VOTED MAJORITY IN FAVOR”
- Art. 4 Add a Town Administrator bylaw and make related amendments to other bylaws No action “MAJORITY VOTE 88 TO 67 TO TAKE NO ACTION · 88 TO 67”
- Art. 5 Appropriate $600,000 for professional services for a consolidated Town Hall facility (as amended) Passed as amended “VOTED MAJORITY IN FAVOR”
- Art. 6 Add a parcel to the centralized wastewater collection and treatment system service area Passed “VOTED MAJORITY IN FAVOR”
- Art. 7 Borrow $4,800,000 and appropriate $1,500,000 for Vineyard Haven Public Library renovation and addition Passed “VOTED BY A 2/3”
Special Town Meeting · May 28, 2024 9 votes: 9 passed
- Art. 1 Instruct the Select Board to obtain surety bonds for Town officers for FY2025 Passed “VOTED UNANIMOUSLY IN FAVOR”
- Art. 2 Authorize the Treasurer to borrow in anticipation of revenue for FY2025 Passed “VOTED UNANIMOUSLY IN FAVOR”
- Art. 3 Authorize a compensating balance agreement for FY2025 Passed “VOTED UNANIMOUSLY IN FAVOR”
- Art. 4 Accept the Prudent Investor Rule (M.G.L. c.44 s.54(b)(1)) for trust fund management Passed “VOTED MAJORITY IN FAVOR”
- Art. 5 Elect a Fish Committee for FY2025 to regulate herring fishing at Chappaquonsett Pond and Creek Passed “VOTED UNANIMOUSLY IN FAVOR”
- Art. 6 Add parcels to the centralized wastewater collection and treatment system service area Passed “VOTED UNANIMOUSLY IN FAVOR”
- Art. 7 Amend the Personnel Bylaw to delegate duties to the Human Resources Director Passed “voted majority in favor”
- Art. 8 Amend Zoning By-law Section 04.02.08 on use of premises in connection with one's trade Passed “voted by a 2/3 majority”
- Art. 9 Amend the William Street Historic District By-law (Commission membership) Passed “VOTED BY A 2/3 MAJORITY AS DECLARED BY THE”
Annual Town Meeting · May 28, 2024 31 votes: 27 passed, 3 passed as amended, 1 no action
- Art. 1 Hear or receive reports of Town boards, committees and officials Passed “voted majority in favor”
- Art. 2 Pay prior-year bills totaling $33,888.90 Passed “VOTED UNANIMOUSLY IN FAVOR”
- Art. 3 Add $200,000 plus wastewater surplus funds to the Sick/Vacation Trust Fund Passed “voted majority in favor”
- Art. 4 Spend $469,194 of passenger ferry embarkation fee receipts on listed purposes (as amended) Passed as amended “voted unanimously in favor”
- Art. 5 Fund various Community Preservation Act projects Passed “voted majority in favor”
- Art. 6 Set aside Community Preservation Fund FY2025 budget reserve accounts Passed “VOTED MAJORITY IN FAVOR”
- Art. 7 Fund Waterways capital expenditures from the Waterways Fund Passed “voted unanimously”
- Art. 8 Fund capital appropriations and new equipment from Unreserved Fund Balance Passed “voted unanimously in favor”
- Art. 9 Appropriate $56,000 from DPW Stabilization Fund for a pick-up truck with plow Passed “voted majority in favor”
- Art. 10 Fund a replacement ambulance ($238,526 from Ambulance Stabilization Fund plus raise and appropriate) Passed “voted majority in favor”
- Art. 11 Appropriate $70,000 from Fire Stabilization Fund for a Fire Chief vehicle Passed “voted majority in favor”
- Art. 12 Transfer $1,500,000 from Unreserved Fund Balance to the General Stabilization Fund Passed “VOTED UNANIMOUSLY IN FAVOR”
- Art. 13 Transfer $750,000 to the Capital Building and Infrastructure Stabilization Fund Passed “VOTED MAJORITY IN FAVOR”
- Art. 14 Add $100,000 to the Finance and Advisory Committee Reserve Fund Passed “voted majority in favor”
- Art. 15 Appropriate $20,000 for quinquennial certification of property values Passed “voted majority in favor”
- Art. 16 Approve the FY2025 Water Works Department budget ($1,829,641.28) Passed “voted unanimously in favor”
- Art. 17 Appropriate $855,000 from Water Enterprise surplus for Water Works capital expenses Passed “VOTED MAJORITY IN FAVOR”
- Art. 18 Make the Water Works Department Secretary position full time and fund it Passed “VOTED UNANIMOUSLY IN FAVOR”
- Art. 19 Approve the FY2025 Wastewater Enterprise Fund budget of $951,180 (as amended) Passed as amended “VOTED UNANIMOUSLY IN FAVOR”
- Art. 20 Reallocate $100,000 of prior sewer borrowing for odor mitigation at the wastewater facility No action “VOTED UNANIMOUSLY TO TAKE NO ACTION”
- Art. 21 Raise and appropriate $150,000 for Comprehensive Wastewater Management Plan permitting Passed “VOTED UNANIMOUSLY IN FAVOR”
- Art. 22 Appropriate $10,847.04 as cost share for the Hospital Roads Resilience Assessment Passed “VOTED UNANIMOUSLY IN FAVOR”
- Art. 23 Raise and appropriate funds for regional social services Passed “voted unanimously in favor”
- Art. 24 Raise and appropriate $13,017.40 for Dukes County supplemental budget share Passed “VOTED UNANIMOUSLY IN FAVOR”
- Art. 25 Raise and appropriate $47,447.83 for Martha's Vineyard public safety communication system maintenance Passed “VOTED UNANIMOUSLY IN FAVOR”
- Art. 26 Fund the local drop-off area ($80,000 from landfill reserve plus raise and appropriate) Passed “VOTED UNANIMOUSLY IN FAVOR”
- Art. 27 Appropriate $150,000 from Unreserved Fund Balance to the OPEB Trust Passed “VOTED UNANIMOUSLY IN FAVOR”
- Art. 28 Amend the classification and compensation plan for non-union part-time, seasonal and temporary employees Passed “VOTED UNANIMOUSLY IN FAVOR”
- Art. 29 Amend the classification and compensation plan for managerial and professional employees Passed “VOTED MAJORITY IN FAVOR”
- Art. 30 FY2025 operating budget, raising $39,613,713.82 plus transfers (as amended) Passed as amended “VOTED UNANIMOUSLY IN FAVOR”
- Art. 31 Transfer $700,000 from Unreserved Fund Balance to reduce the tax rate Passed “VOTED UNANIMOUSLY IN FAVOR”
Not here yet: the 2025 Annual Town Meeting, the September 30, 2025 Special Town Meeting and the 2026 Annual Town Meeting (the 2025 Annual Town Report is not posted yet and the Town Clerk's page posts no Town Meeting minutes).
Titles are short descriptions of each article from the official record; the quoted words are the Town Clerk’s. A vote at Town Meeting is not the final word on everything: some articles also need a ballot vote (such as a tax override) or the Attorney General’s approval (bylaws).
Members
John CahillMember · Elected townwide · at 2 of 4 meetings
Roy CutrerMember · Elected townwide · at 3 of 4 meetings"At X of Y meetings" counts the members the minutes list as present at the start of each meeting in this record. Members who step out are listed on each meeting page.
Attendance
33 full-board meetings in 2024. Ties share a rank.
1Roy Cutrer33 of 33 meetings Every meeting100%2John Cahill32 of 33 meetings97%3Christina Colarusso29 of 33 meetings88%29 full-board meetings in 2023. Ties share a rank.
1Christina Colarusso14 of 15 meetings · served from May93%2John Cahill27 of 29 meetings93%2Roy Cutrer27 of 29 meetings93%4Abbe Burt12 of 13 meetings · served from Jan · served until May92%32 full-board meetings in 2022. Ties share a rank.
1John Cahill21 of 21 meetings · served from Jun Every meeting100%2Roy Cutrer30 of 32 meetings94%3Jeff Kristal10 of 11 meetings · served until May91%4Larry Gomez21 of 24 meetings · served until Sep88%From the official minutes: full-board meetings only (committee meetings are not counted). Members are counted only for meetings held while they served, and arriving late counts as attending. The minutes rarely say why a member was absent. Not shown: 2021, 2025, because too many of that year’s meetings are missing from the posted minutes.
A monthly email on its votes and who was there, starting in November.
Meetings
About missing minutes
Loaded: Select Board minutes from January 12, 2021 through September 25, 2025, from the town’s Agenda Center. The town has posted minutes for only about half of its Select Board meetings since 2021 and none since September 2025, so many meetings are missing here. Executive session minutes are not included; scanned minutes were read with text recognition and checked. Votes are roll calls, such as “Roll Call Vote: Gomez – Aye; Cutrer – Aye; Kristal – Aye”, or a count such as “The vote was 3 in favor, 0 opposed, and 0 abstained”, often followed by the names of anyone voting no or abstaining. When the count equals the members present, each is shown voting yes. Counts that don’t match the members present, or that don’t say who voted no or abstained, show the count only. A few motions with no vote recorded are left out. We will ask the town to confirm any noted vote.
Votes where members disagreed
Most board votes are unanimous. These are the ones where at least one member voted no or abstained, newest first.
None.
From the Tisbury Select Board’s official minutes, posted in the town’s Agenda Center. We check every vote against the members present and quote the exact wording. MassVoter never grades or scores officials. Photos: The Martha’s Vineyard Times: Roy Cutrer and James Rogers (2021); John Cahill (2020, from the meeting video); Christina Colarusso (courtesy of Ms. Colarusso, 2026).
How to read these pagesWhere the votes come from, how we check them against the official minutes, what isn't included yet, and how to report a mistake.About city pages →