WHITMAN – In it’s last meeting of 2024 on Tuesday, Dec. 17 the Select Board heard a sobering assessment of what lies ahead for the town next year as officials calculate the fiscal 2026 budget.
Bottom-line, according to board member Shawn Kain, is that preliminary budget numbers indicate that an override is necessary to maintain level services. He had based his preliminary budget on 2.5-percent salary increases plus contractual step increases, final terms of union contract negotiations and the level-funding of expenses except for major known increases.
“We’re trying to get some things out there in the public view as early as we possibly could,” Chair Dr. Carl Kowalski said, noting that such an update was most likely what the Finance Committee wanted to do anyway.
“Our goal here is a level-service simulation – roughly a level- service simulation,” Kain said, noting that all five municipal union contracts are up for negotiation and the schools are negotiating their contracts. “You need to keep that present on your mind, but we’re looking for a simulation that’s roughly level-service.”
Total revenues are forecasted to be $45,784,975, with expenses calculated at $47,914,340, putting the current deficit at $1,729,385.
“[This is] basically announcing that, this year, we can’t avoid doing an override in order to pay for the services that we want to have,” Kowalski said.
“That’s right,” Kain said. “We thought it would be best to get these numbers out now, let people marinate and think about them, and then we can think about – over the next month or so – what the scope of the override would be … the details.”
Kowalski said he hoped the Finance Committee has seen and been discussing the numbers to help decide how much of an override will be needed. And it would need to include all departments.
“It’s the kind of advice I’ve been looking for from the Finance Committee for a long time,” he said. “[We] haven’t really received it. … It’s been pretty clear to us for a long time that, in order to have these things that we say that we value as a town … that we’ve needed an override for a while.”
He said there’s never been an inclination to pay for what the town says it values.
A joint meeting the Select Board had planned to have with the Finance Committee, didn’t happen because the Finance Committee, hadn’t officially posted it, with their agenda, Kowalski had said earlier in the meeting.
Vice Chair Dan Salvucci said departments need to understand that an override is not “an open wallet.”
Member Justin Evans said the town has already made all the cuts that can be made.
“I don’t know where else we can cut looking forward,” he said, echoing Kain’s assessment that they are down to the bone now.
Kain had noted noted that the budget process represents a community’s primary policy statement and establishes government priorities, beginning in the fall with a financial forecast.
“That is what this is tonight,” he said. A joint meeting with the Finance Committee and involving the schools will be held in order to coordinate concerning Whitman’s financial projections ans decide how to move forward on the same page.
The current levy is at $31,919,007. Adding $797,975 under the Proposition 2.5 and $200,000 in projected new growth brings that figure to an anticipated $32,916,982.
Kain said the new growth projection is low, as Whitman’s average is over $400,000.
“But the thing is, in a couple of those [previous] years the new growth was obvious,” he said. “We had a couple of projects that were over $600,000 and it made sense, but this year, we don’t have any new projects on the books, and based on the feedback we get from the assessor’s office, it really does make sense for that number to be as low as it is at $200,000.”
Adding excluded debt of $2,990,347 does just that – it goes to excluded debt and can’t be used for any part of the operating budget.
The maximum allowable levy for the town in $35,907,329.
Local receipts brought in $10,599,540 for a total revenue of $46,506,779. Subtracting charges and offsets of $721,804 brings the total available funds to $45,764,975
“We’ve been getting better and better at projecting our local receipts,” he said. “It’s guided by financial policy, and Mary Beth has been working closely with a really high-level financial consultant, which has allowed us to do be able to do this in a way that is reasonable, but also conservative.”
In January and February, as the first commitment comes out for excise tax, the town will have some more realistic evidence to know where those numbers are going to come in. The final calculation of $45,784,975 in available funds if $819,689 above where the town was last year in terms of new revenue that can be put toward the operating budget.
Carter has also put out a message to department heads to include a 2.5-percent increase for all non-unions employees without contracts; include that increase to employees who are contracted; and include step raises due for union employees; and all departments should be level-funding all of their expenses.
“That’s a hard ask, because every year, expenses go up,” Kain said.
All five contracts are under negotiation this year, as well.
Key budgetary lines will continue to be Plymouth County retirement, medical and health insurance, the W-H Regional School budget, level funding SST because enrollment is down, fire department retirements, solid waste disposal and free cash used last year.
“Plymouth County Retirement is killing us,” he said. “That’s up 11 percent this year. … That one line item is very difficult for us to account for in our budget.”

HANSON – The Select Board took a virtual tour of employment ups and downs on Tuesday, Dec. 3 as they heard a report of public safety staffing concerns, welcomed a new master mechanic and celebrated the silver jubilee years of two Town Hall employees.
Police Chief Michael Miksch outlined his department’s staffing picture – which struck a somber tone, but pointed to a potential silver lining.
Hanson’s department is down two officers and is “kind of struggling” to rehire, but he added, that is nothing new to any police department, pretty much, in the northeast, he said.
The department has advertised and received a lot of applications from “brand new officers” that would have to be sent to the police academy.
“We anticipate two more openings going into the next fiscal year,” he said. “That’s a great pool to start with, because it will take us six months just to get somebody into an academy. So, we’re in a good spot on that side.”
To try filling the vacancies in the meantime, and maintain proper staffing levels, he said the department has put out an ad seeking people interested in lateral transfers.
“We had, I think it was, five total that had come in at that point,” he said, indicating that Thomas Malloy was one of them. “Three of the five did not meet the requirements that we held out there for a lateral.”
The chief asked the board to vote favorably on hiring Malloy with a start date of Monday, Dec. 23.
Miksch said Malloy was interviewed and proved to be a “very strong candidate.” They had another potential candidate slated for an interview on Thursday, Dec. 5.
“You might see me again in two to three weeks, or maybe after Christmas,” he said. “We’ll see how that goes.”
Currently a Plymouth Police officer, Malloy graduated from the academy in 2023. He is also a graduate of Whitman-Hanson Regional High School and attended Massasoit Community College for a year, studying fire science, before entering the Marine Corps, serving for 11 years.
“He seems like a very good candidate,” Miksch said. “He was his class president in the academy [and] has been very well-regarded and is coming to us with high recommendations.”
Longevity lauded
The board honored two of the Town Hall’s administrative staff members of town departments for their longevity and dedication to serving residents during the meeting.
“We know you’re behind the scenes making it all happen,” said FitzGerald-Kemmett, noting that most people think in terms of a conservation agent or building inspector running departments, but they don’t realize there is a cast of people supporting them and getting the day-to-day work done.
“We are fortunate to have two such people,” she said. “And I think it’s pretty monumental to have people that have been in a job as long as you ladies have.”
Ann Merlin, who works in the assessor’s office, and Virginia Costley received citations from the board “expressing [their] sincere appreciation in recognition of 25 years of service and commitment to the residents of Hanson.”
FitzGerald-Kemmett also lauded Merlin for everything she did to help organize the town’s 200th Anniversary party in 2020. The party was one of the few events not canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“If you were fortunate enough to have been there, then you saw Ann Merlin’s decorating skills … amazing,” she said. “The details that this woman put in. It looked like it was otherworldly, it was just amazing.”
She also performed the Patsy Cline classic “Walking After Midnight.”
“She’s a very, very talented lady in many ways,” Green said. “I’m very privileged to work with her.”
“Virginia is just unparalleled in her knowledge,” FitzGerald-Kemmett said. “[She] has overseen all types of personalities and abilities and kept us on track.”
FitzGerald-Kemmett termed the Appeals Board one of the most important boards in town.
“People don’t realize that a lot of the exceptions that are made there are what defines what our town looks like,” she said. “You’ve been a huge, critical part of that, and I thank you.”
An emotional Costley thanked the board.
Master mechanic
The Select Board also voted to welcome it’s newest employee – hiring Kevin Simms of Bridgewater as the Highway Department’s master mechanic, contingent upon a successful background check and physical when he is recovered from planned surgery. His start date is anticipated to be Dec. 30.
“We conducted quite a search,” said Town Administrator Lisa Green, noting the position had been posted a few times. “Finally, we did get three candidates. Unfortunately, two withdrew, but the final candidate we did interview, turns out was a top person.”
Simms has at least 30 years of experience in automotive repair, ranging from diesel mechanics to aerial hydraulics and he has been a fleet supervisor with additional experience in welding and meal fabrication. He has also been a maintenance supervisor and shop foreman. He has schooling in air brakes and is a certified ASE master technician, which promotes excellence in vehicle repair. He has also worked on tires and is familiar with HVAC.
While he did have a Class B CDL license, he had let it lapse because his prior employer didn’t require it, he is looking into whether he can get it reinstated as well as pursing his 2A Hoisting license as well.
Simms was not able to attend the meeting because he was having surgery the next day, and his doctor advised him against going out and risking becoming ill.
“As you know, we’ve been short a mechanic for little bit of time,” Highway Director Richard Jasmin said. “Kevin comes with a wealth of experience that I think is going to help us get a fleet maintenance program up and running.”
He said Simms is not looking to “bounce around” any more as a lot of mechanics do in the course of their careers.
“He just wants a home, now, and he’s more than happy to make it Hanson.” Jamison said. “On top of that, we’re going to save a lot of money, because now we send everything out – from oil changes to minor weld jobs [and] it’s getting pretty pricey.”
While highway equipment will be Simms’ priority, the plan is to expand the job description to include other municipal vehicles.
“When he gets here, he’s going to have a little bit of list to get through, especially going into the winter,” Jamison said. “But I don’t see there being a terrible issue helping out. … I’d love to be able to lend a helping hand it [we] could.”
Simms’ will have the normal probationary period for the Highway Department of 90 days, with the town negotiating with the union to give him up to a year to obtain the CDL and Hoisting licenses, Green said.
“We don’t believe it will take that long, but they are willing to go that long,” she said, adding that, within six months he needs to at least show progress towards obtaining those licenses. Once he does obtain them, he will have another 90-day probationary period.
“We have spoken to him [and] he is agreeable to that,” she said. It will not impact vacation time, personal days or holidays. She said he is also taking quite a large pay cut to come work for the town.

WHITMAN – This time, when the town asked for what it needed – they got it.
In a special Town Meeting on Monday, Dec. 2, it took the 101 voters just over 20 minutes to approve an amendment to the South Shore Tech Regional Agreement, as well as two bill-paying articles and pay for cable access coverage of public, education and government programming.
“This article is about fairness,” said former Finance Committee member Rick Anderson of the SST amendment. “I just want to take this opportunity to thank Superintendent Hickey and his school district, South Shore Tech, for listening to the concerns of Whitman
The article was passed by a unanimous vote.
Town Moderator Michael Seele noted with appreciation the work of the Finance Committee as the meeting got underway.
“The work they do is important to the town,” he said, putting in a plug for residents interested in serving on the Finance Committee to see him about how to do that.
“I truly appreciate the time you’ve taken from your busy schedules to attend tonight,” said Town Administrator Mary Beth Carter, thanking those voters attending. “The primary reason for this meeting is to take a vote on the proposed amendment to the Regional Agreement for the South Shore Regional School District, which was previously approved by a vote of the [SST] School Committee on Aug. 19. This amendment will impact the way in which future debt will be apportioned to the nine member towns within the South Shore Regional School District.”
SST Superintendent-Director Dr. Thomas J. Hickey drew the most applause from the audience after explaining any potential impact the amendment would have on the school’s existing debt.
“We currently have no debt,” he had said.
“Great, I love to hear that,” the man said adding that he fully supports the article which makes things fair for Whitman.
Only the regional agreement article was the source of much discussion on the night.
“It was about a year ago that we were holding a public forum here in Whitman, talking about being in the pipeline for a potential school building project, when it was suggested to us that we take a closer look at our regional agreement language, specifically at how debt share is calculated,” Hickey had said to open the discussion.
The current agreement, written in 1960, calls for the debt share among member towns to be fixed for the life of the borrowing, based on enrollment at the time a project is approved. The suggestion was a potential 30-year borrowing is a long time and Whitman is the community sending the most students to SST now, but that has not always been the case – and it could go lower in the future.
“Doing a look-back, I can tell you, enrollment trends can change over time,” Hickey said. “A town that has low enrollment could increase, and vice-versa, so why not consider a model to where you can move debt-share language to something that’s more pay-as-you-go?”
Working with its school committee and the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE), Hickey said SST has brought back an amendment that debt-share will be calculated based on a four-year rolling average. That is what Whitman was voting on Monday night.
To illustrate: if a town’s debt share is being calculated for the FY28 budget, the school committee will certify the budget in FY27, and it will use the enrollment reports from FY26, FY25, FY24, and FY23 to determine the debt share. 
“The second part of this amendment also addresses, with a little more detail, the arrival of our newest community – the town of Marshfield,” he said.
The SST Regional Agreement had already been amended in Spring 2023 to bring Marshfield into the district. Through that, Marshfield will pay its debt share on an annual basis for now, because they do not yet have an enrollment history.
“As their enrollment grows overtime, their debt-share will grow, and their share will be used to offset the costs,” he said. At Marshfield’s current enrollment of 38 students, they are at about 5.4 percent of total enrollment. That would adjust upward over time as more students enroll.
Whitman’s current enrollment is at about 24 percent of the student body, which was why Whitman asked for the regional agreement amendment.
Following an unrelated question on per-pupil averages, which Hickey explained does not enter into this calculation.
“Tonight’s vote is to change the formula for how we borrow money,” he said. The question of per-pupil has more to do with the annual budget.”
Anderson then called the question.
“The reason this article is on this Town Meeting Warrant is because Whitman asked to have a fairer share of the debt assessment, and I think they responded in a way that Whitman really needs to approve tonight at this meeting,” he said.
He also asked the town to support the SST building project going before the voters in January.
“I ask the meeting to support, not only this article, but the project – for the future generations of students that are going to be attending the South Shore Vo-Tech,” he said.
Articles 1 and 2 were seeking free cash transfers to fund unpaid bills from the previous fiscal years. Voters agreed to pay, without much of any discussion concerning a payment to either of Article 1 – seeking to use free cash to pay 1,501.80 for bill from the previous fiscal year as requested by the Public Works Commissioners. Likewise, there was little debate over Article 2, to pay 306.04 previous fiscal year bills for Treasurer-Collector’s office supplies. Both were approved after amendments to the final amounts were approved.
Article 3, seeking $161,099.25 from the Reserve for Appropriation Cable Access Account to fund those services was approved with no discussion at all.