Whitman Finance Committee Braces for Budget Season With Sharply Lower Free Cash

WHITMAN -- November 18, 2025, Whitman Finance Committee hears FY27 free cash certified at $1.05 million, down from roughly $3 million the prior year. Meeting Tuesday, committee member Kathleen reported that half the certified amount is already committed to stabilization funds, Plymouth County Retirement, and OPEB, leaving around $500,000 for capital, well short of the more than $2 million in departmental requests, with a fire engine request adding another roughly $1.6 million. She attributed the Whitman-Hanson Regional School District's ongoing deficit to a $1.7 million gap between the approved $39.7 million salary budget and actual payroll costs, with staff cuts of $811,000 taking effect that week. Town Administrator Mary Beth Carter is pursuing an interim intermunicipal agreement to backstop the district's middle school bond if the district cannot obtain its own bond rating before its $30 million anticipation note expires in March. The committee voted 5-2 to approve its October 28 minutes and endorsed a plan to begin budget-review presentations December 2.