Whitman Finance Committee Reorganizes as Town Faces $648,665 in Cuts

WHITMAN -- June 3, 2025, Whitman Finance Committee reorganizes under new chair and maps out $648,665 in spending cuts ahead of a June 11 town meeting vote. Kathleen O'Tiener was unanimously elected chair at the June 3 meeting, with Mike Warner re-elected vice chair and Chuck Colby re-elected clerk. The committee heard that a failed $2 million Proposition 2½ override has left the town with a total fiscal 2026 deficit of $2,053,439, split roughly 48-52 between the town and the Whitman-Hanson Regional School District; $340,000 of the town's $988,665 share has already been addressed through free cash applied to pension and OPEB accounts, leaving $648,665 still to be cut. O'Tiener said virtually every municipal department, including police, fire, the library, Council on Aging, and the Health Department, faces reductions, with personnel cuts the most likely tool. Town Administrator Mary Beth Carter is expected to post a draft line-item budget by Friday, June 6, and the committee will meet at 5:30 p.m. on June 11 to vote on Article 2 before town meeting convenes at 6 p.m.