Whitman Finance Committee Backs No-Override FY27 Budget, Library Spared

WHITMAN -- April 6, 2026, Whitman Finance Committee endorses a no-override fiscal year 2027 budget plan that keeps the library open. Town Administrator Mary Beth Carter walked the committee line by line through a fifth-budget iteration that closes a roughly $476,000 gap by eliminating $235,000 in non-mandated Whitman-Hanson regional school busing, cutting police and fire budgets by $40,500 each, reducing the Department of Public Works by $20,500, and drawing on the Bruno Guerrero Trust Fund to cover the library's $30,000 Old Colony Library Network membership and overtime costs. The school district's operating assessment remains fully funded at 4.85 percent. Committee member Kevin Wolt raised questions about the impact on the roughly 676 students currently receiving non-mandated busing, noting that Whitman residents could end up paying directly for rides the town stops subsidizing. Finance Committee Chair Kathleen O'Tina said the full committee planned to attend the Board of Selectmen meeting the following evening at 6:30 p.m., where the override question was also expected to come to a head.