Island residents press committee for Steamship Authority board term limits and oversight reforms

Several full-time residents of Martha's Vineyard and representatives of a citizens' group asked the Joint Committee on Transportation to approve Senate Bill 2,395, which would impose term limits and other governance changes on the Steamship Authority Board of Governors.

"This bill calls for 3 3 year terms," Amy Cody, a founding member of the Steamship Authority Citizens Action Group, said in testimony supporting the bill. Cody and other witnesses said term limits would encourage turnover, bring new ideas and improve oversight of the authority that operates ferry service between the mainland and the islands.

Beth O'Connor, a full-time resident of Edgartown, said the current five-member board controls schedules, budgets and capital purchases and described concerns about legacy appointments and limited accountability. "This 5 member board controls everything from the ferry schedules to the budget to the purchase of major capital investments," O'Connor said, and she urged staggered three-year terms to ensure regular turnover.

Other Vineyard residents described long-standing operational and transparency problems, including letters from town select boards asking for responses, reliance on public-record requests to obtain information, and a board member who missed a large share of public meetings in recent years. Witnesses requested the committee report S 2,395 favorably and noted broad local support from multiple town governments and the Dukes County Commission.