Veterans Services Budget May Fall Short as Whitman Caseload Climbs in FY26

WHITMAN -- December 9, 2025, Whitman Veterans Services Director warns FY26 benefits budget may be insufficient as caseload hits 16 recipients and climbing. Declan Ware told the Finance Committee at its December 9 meeting that his $150,000 Chapter 115 appropriation is likely to be nearly exhausted by year-end, with conservative spending projections of $123,290 and a high-end estimate of $130,000, against a monthly rate that has already risen from roughly $9,100 in FY25 to approximately $11,000 in December 2025. Ware also disclosed that Abington and Rockland have permanently withdrawn from the longstanding Quad Town Veterans Day observance, leaving Whitman to pursue a new partnership with Hanson and prompting a budget line adjustment from $1,000 to a requested $3,000 for the event. Separately, a Finance Committee member reported that an MSBA call was scheduled for December 10 to explore whether Whitman could assume the middle school project debt directly using the town's bond rating, after incomplete district audits, stemming from a 2022 data breach, made it unlikely the Whitman-Hanson Regional School District would secure its own rating before a $30 million bond anticipation note comes due in March.