Whitman Approves $2,400 in Budget Transfers to Close Out Fiscal Year
Officials address shortfalls across town departments in joint meeting
WHITMAN, MA - July 9 - The Whitman Board of Selectmen and Finance Committee approved over $2,400 in budget transfers Tuesday night to address shortfalls across several town departments as the fiscal year came to a close.
Meeting jointly via Zoom, officials unanimously approved six separate transfers ranging from $40 to $1,000 to cover expenses that exceeded budgeted amounts.
The largest transfer was $1,000 for the recording secretary budget line. Town Administrator Mary Beth Carter explained this was needed due to recent staffing changes.
"We've had a couple of new recording secretaries just getting used to the format and so forth," Carter said. "The line was over by $711.59 when I put this request in."
A $582.89 transfer was approved to fully cover the town's payment in lieu of taxes (PILOT) for Whitman-owned land in Rockland. Carter said the bill came in higher than budgeted at $6,582.89 this year.
The transfer sparked discussion about plans for that property, known as Camp Alice Carlton. Finance Committee member Al Cafferty inquired about the town's intentions.
Carter explained a committee explored options like leasing or selling but hadn't reached consensus. She said an ongoing open space and recreation planning process will help determine the best use.
"It usually takes about a year or two, so we'll know more after that plan is complete," Carter said. "The last time the town updated their open space and recreation plan was 2004."
Two transfers totaling $330 were approved for the building department - $210 to cover seven inspections by the assistant inspector and $120 for emergency electrical inspections.
The fire department received approval to transfer $500 for higher than expected expenses. Fire Chief Timothy Clancy said the overages related to sprinkler maintenance and increased ambulance billing due to Brockton Hospital's closure.
Carter noted Clancy initially planned to request $5,000 but reduced it to $500 by tapping unspent emergency management funds.
The final transfer was $40.94 for the assessors office to correct a payroll shortfall caused by a spreadsheet error.
Finance Committee Chair Kathleen Ottina thanked Chief Clancy for proactively explaining his request.
"I appreciated the phone call and I appreciated starting the line of communication," Ottina said.
The 25-minute meeting allowed officials to close out financial books for the fiscal year that ended June 30. Selectmen Vice Chair Dan Salvucci said any unused transferred funds would "wash back to free cash."