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.