Whitman Finance Committee Reviews Four Department Budgets Amid Staffing Strains

WHITMAN — January 20, 2026 — Whitman's Finance Committee heard four department budget presentations Tuesday, with the library's staffing crisis and the fire department's aging apparatus drawing the most scrutiny. Fire Chief Jason Gilliland presented a $4,484,496 budget, up $587,290, driven by contractual salary increases and surging repair costs, including a new $14,000 quote for a hydraulic generator on one engine; he said the department bills roughly $3 million annually in ambulance fees but collects only $1.2 million. New library director Rebecca Laurent, just two months on the job, told the committee the library is operating five hours below the state's 50-hour weekly threshold needed to receive full state aid, losing an estimated $6,000 per year, and said a previously cut $21,000 part-time position — roughly $15,000 net after regained reimbursements — is the clearest path to recovery. Zoning Board of Appeals Chair John Goldrosen reported case volume so low his board expects to spend only $2,000 to $2,500 of its $6,000 budget this year. Conservation Commission member Mackenzie Sherrill said the commission approved roughly $9,900 in pond maintenance invoices at the meeting and is pursuing new bylaw authority to issue fines.