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.