Whitman Select Board sets 2026 trash fee at $435 amid affordability debate

WHITMAN — October 28, 2025 — Whitman Select Board 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. Select Board 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.