Whitman Board of Selectmen sets 2026 trash fee at $435 amid affordability debate
Whitman Board of Selectmen approves $435 annual trash fee and new ambulance billing policy at October 28 meeting.
WHITMAN -- October 28, 2025, Whitman Board of Selectmen approves $435 annual trash fee and new ambulance billing policy at October 28 meeting. The board settled on the $435 figure, a compromise between the $417 rate recommended by DPW Director Bruce Martin based solely on hauler-contract costs and a $450 proposal that would have captured an additional $150,000 in indirect administrative costs, with a $25 senior discount bringing qualifying residents' rate to $410. Board of Selectmen member Sean Cain also warned that Whitman-Hanson Regional School District is projecting a mid-year fiscal 2026 deficit following acknowledged problems in fiscal 2025, with a formal layoff-risk letter sent to teachers in recent days and an emergency school committee session called. The town's general fund free cash came in at $1,050,313, certified by the Department of Revenue the day before the meeting, against more than $3 million already requested in capital items, prompting Cain to propose redirecting funds ordinarily destined for general stabilization toward Plymouth County retirement liability to protect personnel.
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