Aquinnah select board member Gary Haley has been ordered by the state ethics commission to pay $10,000 in civil penalties for a 2018 violation of state ethics law, when he billed the town more than $17,000 for electrical work he performed during an Aquinnah Circle beautification project.

In a decision released Tuesday, the state ethics commission found Mr. Haley violated Section 19 of the state’s conflict of interest law governing self-dealing and nepotism on two occasions: once when he appointed himself to perform work for the town, and again when he signed off on a bill for that work as a town select board member.

Mr. Haley participated in a project to bury overhead cables along Aquinnah Circle in 2018, alongside the town and three utility companies. The project was part of a first step in a broader beautification plan for the area, funded largely by Community Preservation Act money to improve the town’s unique viewshed over the Gay Head Cliffs, Philbin Beach and the Gay Head moraine.

A master electrician by trade, Mr. Haley volunteered to perform work burying the cables for free as a supplement to the utilities companies on site, according to a statement released by the ethics commission Tuesday.

But on his first day on the job, according to the statement, Mr. Haley elected to perform further work on the project without consulting the town, and decided to bill the town for that work. He later billed the town $17,445, and approved that expenditure in his role as a...

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