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Shellfish constable defends 35% budget increase, says year‑round work requires a full‑time deputy
Summary
Shellfish Constable Danielle Ewart defended a roughly 35% FY27 budget increase driven largely by salaries — including a proposed full‑time Deputy Constable — and said overtime and stipends are needed for year‑round commercial and recreational shellfishing; FinCom member Ruth Konigsberg urged tighter OT management.
Shellfish Constable Danielle Ewart presented the department’s FY27 budget showing a roughly 35% increase, which she said is driven primarily by salary changes: creation of a full‑time Deputy Constable, reductions to part‑time/seasonal hours, union and M&P salary increases, and overtime and on‑call/shift stipends required under union contracts. Constable Ewart described year‑round work demands — summer family shellfishing peaks (Memorial Day, July 4, Labor Day) and winter commercial scalloping including a Thanksgiving Day harvest — plus propagation and weather‑related oversight that justify extended coverage and the recently filled Deputy position.
FinCom member Ruth Konigsberg sharply questioned staffing choices and urged more aggressive overtime management. Danielle Ewart responded that the Deputy position has been “an enormous support this winter” and that town shellfish departments on the island routinely coordinate (she said she consults Oak Bluffs on difficult Lagoon Pond issues). The department framed the budget as supporting a profitable local industry and said overtime is calculated against holiday and seasonal rates; specific dollar totals for the shellfish line items are in the budget documents on file.
