Whitman Tax Relief Fund Logs $1,900 in First Two Months of Donations

WHITMAN — September 10, 2025 — Whitman's Aid to the Elderly and Disabled Taxation Fund collected $1,900 from 121 donors in its first two months. Committee Chair John Galvin reported the figures — with individual donations ranging from $1 to $100 — at the September 10 meeting of the six-member committee, which also voted unanimously to accept amended minutes from its August 20 session. Treasurer-Collector staff confirmed the town's Unibank payment portal can accept online donations but warned of a $38.85 quarterly fee if monthly transaction volume stays below 50 for six consecutive months. The committee deferred a vote on its revised application form and left unresolved a key legal question: whether the committee, as a municipal body rather than a registered nonprofit, is permitted to solicit donations from businesses — a distinction that could determine how aggressively the fund can grow beyond the tax-bill checkoff program. The state Department of Revenue has not yet responded to the committee's inquiry on the matter.