Whitman Board of Selectmen Expands Fire Chief Exam Eligibility, Corrects Budget Vote

WHITMAN -- April 21, 2026, Whitman Board of Selectmen honors outgoing Chairman Carl Kowalski and opens fire chief exam to lieutenants. At what is expected to be his final meeting as chairman, Kowalski, who has served on the Board of Selectmen since 2002 and the School Committee since 1984, received citations from the Massachusetts House, Senate, and U.S. Representative Stephen Lynch, with Senator Mike Brady delivering a Senate citation signed by Senate President Karen Spilka. The board voted unanimously to expand civil service eligibility for the June 6 fire chief examination to the rank of lieutenant after the existing pool of eligible candidates, limited to the deputy chief and captain under a recent civil service rule change, fell below the statutory minimum of two applicants; Fire Chief Clancy, who departs July 10, said at least one lieutenant is prepared to sit for the exam. The board also corrected a prior vote, redirecting $94,528.17 in free cash from a misidentified OPEB line to Plymouth County Retirement Line 35, part of a $3.8 million county retirement obligation. Resident Dawn Byers urged the board to reconsider a $30,000 town meeting warrant article for a capital improvement plan, arguing the service is available free through the state's Division of Local Services or the UMass Boston Collins Center, which produced a similar plan for the town in 2019.