Tisbury voters narrowly approved their first general budget override in more than two decades at the annual town election Tuesday.
The ballot question passed by just 21 votes, with 367 voters in favor of the override, and 349 against.
Town clerks maintain bylaws, keep track of the open meeting law, conflict of interest law, campaign finance forms and they swear people in. They are also keepers of the town seal.
Like other towns in the state, Edgartown may look at changing the town clerk from an elected to an appointed position.
Edgartown town clerk Wanda Williams told the selectmen Monday that she would like the town to look into making the change.
Senior personnel changes are underway in Oak Bluffs, with the longtime town clerk retiring and a new acting fire chief in place.
Town clerk Deborah deBettencourt Ratcliff, who has worked for the office for 25 years and served as town clerk since 1997, announced her retirement this week. Her last day will be June 30.
The selectmen accepted her retirement with regret at their meeting Tuesday, and appointed assistant town clerk Laura Johnston as the acting town clerk.
The last day to register to vote in Massachusetts was Wednesday, and the deadline saw a flurry of activity in town halls across the Island.
“I’m working fast and furious,” reported Edgartown town clerk Wanda Williams yesterday morning. Ms. Williams said nearly 60 new voters registered in Edgartown on Wednesday. Because she is still entering figures, the town clerk was unable to report the new total number of registered voters in town at press time.
Marion Mudge typed her own name into Google on Wednesday. In a fraction of a second, the search engine came up with 370,000 references.
The self-effacing Tisbury town clerk has become a big name in the news. Media in Detroit, Seattle, Tampa Bay, Eugene, Oregon, not to mention some specialty publications including a wine magazine, from all over the country, have featured her.