Whitman Select Board Sets $500,000 General Override Following Tense “Shared Burden” Budget Negotiations

WHITMAN — April 7 and 10, 2026 — The Whitman Select Board has officially placed a $500,000 general override on the May 16th ballot, a pivotal move that follows a week of intense deliberations to save the town library and bridge a looming deficit through a controversial “shared burden” strategy. The final figure, cemented in a brief emergency session Friday morning, replaces an earlier plan for a library-specific override and sets the stage for a high-stakes town meeting where residents must decide whether to increase their tax levy or face deep cuts to services, including the total elimination of non-mandated school busing.

The Full Story

The path to the $500,000 figure was anything but linear. During a marathon joint session with the Finance Committee on Tuesday night, Town Administrator Mary Beth Carter presented what she termed a “creative approach” to fiscal year 2027. The objective was clear: keep the Whitman Public Library open without a dedicated override, a response to public comment at a Finance Committee meeting and a weekend deluge of over 50 emails from residents pleading for the facility’s survival.