Whitman Finance Committee Reviews Police, Board of Health FY27 Budget Requests

WHITMAN — January 13, 2026 — Whitman Finance Committee reviews flat-funded police and Board of Health budgets amid program cuts and staffing concerns. Police Chief Tim Hanlon told the committee at its January 13 meeting that unfilled shifts fell to 216 in FY25, down from more than 300 the prior year, and that the department's FY27 "all other services" request of $3.215 million is built to fund full shift coverage — though he acknowledged the flat utility line, kept level at the town administrator's direction, does not reflect real costs. Board of Health Inspector Dan Kelly and Board Chair Daniel Clancy said the loss of roughly $11,000 in clerical hours last year forced elimination of the town's drug and sharps take-back program and its low-cost rabies clinic, with Kelly warning that a flat expense line of $3,250 will not keep pace with vendor increases once a federal Plymouth Norfolk 5 grant expires after FY27. Finance Committee Chair Mike Warner said the committee would use three March budget sessions to go line by line through departmental requests and push for a more active role in final recommendations, saying flatly, "We don't have to take what the selectmen's budget is."