Steamship Authority photo:
NANTUCKET – The Nantucket Select Board recently sent a letter to the Massachusetts Joint Committee on Municipal and Regional Government voicing their unanimous opposition to a Senate bill that was change the voting structure of the Steamship Authority’s Board of Governors.
The bill, authored by Barnstable/Plymouth State Senator Susan Moran, would alter the current vote weighting system for authority members by stipulating that a vote from Barnstable, Falmouth, or New Bedford would be needed for authority actions.
In the letter, the Select Board stated that they were not given proper notification of a December 5 meeting on the subject and claimed that the bill would negatively impact residents of both Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket, whose authority members they insisted should retain final control.
Writing in place of the town’s Steamship Authority representative, who they said would concur with their statement, the Board wrote “It is alarming that when representatives from Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket align on boat line policies for the best interest of their citizens, these efforts could be blocked by opposition from Barnstable, Falmouth, and New Bedford, leaving the Islands with seriously compromised service issues that could impact residents, businesses, and possibly municipal operations.”
Moran and supporters of the bill have stated that although the voting structure was intended to leave the largest share of power in the hands of island representatives, more equity is needed as operations conducted by the Steamship Authority impact mainland towns, leaving them disenfranchised under the current vote weighting scale.
The committee is currently in the process of reviewing the bill before taking further action.
About Matthew Tomlinson
