Whitman Select Board puts Prop 2½ override on ballot, spares library

WHITMAN — April 7, 2026 — Whitman Select Board places Proposition 2½ override on the May 16 ballot and reverses course to keep the library open. The board voted unanimously Tuesday to add the override question after Town Administrator Mary Beth Carter presented a revised fiscal year 2027 budget that closes a roughly $476,000 deficit by spreading small cuts across every department rather than closing the Whitman Public Library — a plan Carter said would cost the average homeowner about $95 per year if voters approve it. The single largest cut is the $235,000 non-mandated school busing line, which sparked a prolonged standoff with Whitman-Hanson Regional School Committee Chair Ryan Tressel, who warned that a town vote rejecting that line could invalidate the entire regional school budget under DESE guidance. Carter said the town's Moody's rating — currently Aa3 stable — would face "negative pressure" from any draw on general stabilization funds, and she projected a fiscal year 2028 deficit of $735,414 under conservative estimates. The board also accepted a retirement letter from Fire Chief Timothy J. Clancy Jr., effective July 10, after 35 years with Whitman Fire Rescue.