Personnel board hears short-term rental officer proposal; approves minutes

Building Commissioner G. Monka told the Tisbury Personnel Board on March 28 that the town has about "300 short term rentals" and described a proposed three-quarter-time short-term rental officer to manage registration, inspections and documentation, noting the post would include significant travel time to reach properties.

Monka said the proposed position would handle registration and inspections and that pending bylaw amendments are shifting as a result of changes in the state building code. He added that the town’s existing 2018–19 short-term rental regulations remain in effect.

Chair J. Schilling said the Personnel Board’s role is to approve job descriptions, verify that they are in the correct format, and place new positions on the board’s compensation scale relative to similar positions in other towns. Schilling emphasized the board does not itself create positions but sets classification and compensation.

The meeting also included staffing updates: the harbormaster recruitment must be re-advertised after the incumbent left for a job in Edgartown; the police department has five vacancies; the assessor’s office advertised an administrative position after an internal reassignment; and HR is coordinating a social media policy with town counsel.

The board approved meeting minutes by voice vote: Member J. Rogers moved to approve the February minutes; Member M. Wortman seconded and the board voted all in favor. Wortman then moved to approve the January minutes; Rogers seconded and the board voted all in favor. The minutes record two adjournment times (1:59 p.m. and 2:09 p.m.); the record does not specify which is correct.

No vote was taken on the short-term rental officer position; Schilling asked that a properly formatted job description and compensation comparison be prepared for future consideration.