Whitman Select Board opens 40R hearing, debates rising pension costs

WHITMAN — October 7, 2025 — Whitman Select Board 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. Select Board 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.