Whitman Board of Selectmen opens 40R hearing, debates rising pension costs

WHITMAN -- October 7, 2025, Whitman Board of Selectmen grappled with a looming pension crisis and a potential smart growth zoning windfall at its October 7 meeting. Plymouth County Retirement Association Chairman Tom O'Brien told the board that Whitman's annual pension assessment will rise from roughly $3.5 million today to more than $5 million within five years as the system tracks toward full funding by December 31, 2031, with each year of schedule extension adding an estimated $1.6 million in total cost to member communities. Board of Selectmen member Sean pushed back sharply, warning that the accelerating assessments could force cuts to police, fire, and library services in a town he said is already "at the bone" financially, and argued that pension obligation bonds, blocked by the legislature despite repeated attempts, would offer meaningful budget relief at current rates of around 6.5 percent. In the same meeting, Old Colony Planning Council planner Jason Booth presented a roughly 40-acre 40R Smart Growth Zoning overlay district that could deliver a one-time $350,000 state incentive payment upon adoption and up to $1.98 million in new annual property tax revenue at 464 units of development, with a submission deadline to the state set for the end of October and a potential vote at the May 2026 annual town meeting.