Whitman Select Board Expands Fire Chief Exam Eligibility, Corrects Budget Vote

WHITMAN — April 21, 2026 — Whitman Select Board honors outgoing Chairman Carl Kowalski and opens fire chief exam to lieutenants. At what is expected to be his final meeting as chairman, Kowalski — who has served on the Select Board since 2002 and the School Committee since 1984 — received citations from the Massachusetts House, Senate, and U.S. Representative Stephen Lynch, with Senator Mike Brady delivering a Senate citation signed by Senate President Karen Spilka. The board voted unanimously to expand civil service eligibility for the June 6 fire chief examination to the rank of lieutenant after the existing pool of eligible candidates — limited to the deputy chief and captain under a recent civil service rule change — fell below the statutory minimum of two applicants; Fire Chief Clancy, who departs July 10, said at least one lieutenant is prepared to sit for the exam. The board also corrected a prior vote, redirecting $94,528.17 in free cash from a misidentified OPEB line to Plymouth County Retirement Line 35, part of a $3.8 million county retirement obligation. Resident Dawn Byers urged the board to reconsider a $30,000 town meeting warrant article for a capital improvement plan, arguing the service is available free through the state's Division of Local Services or the UMass Boston Collins Center, which produced a similar plan for the town in 2019.