How the Whitman Select Board voted, from the Select Board’s official minutes. 5 Select Board members elected townwide. Laura L. Howe joined the board in May 2023; Randolph G. LaMattina left. On May 23, 2023, the board chose Carl F. Kowalski over Justin R. Evans for Chairman, 3-2. Covers 28 meetings, May 23 to May 21, 2024.
A monthly email on what it voted on, starting in November.
What does the Select Board do? It is the town’s executive board. It prepares the Town Meeting warrant (the list of articles voters decide), appoints members of many town boards, hires the town’s top staff, signs warrants to pay town bills, and grants licenses and permits.
Town Meeting, not the Select Board, votes the town budget and town bylaws.
Under the state Open Meeting Law, boards post notice at least 48 hours ahead, not counting weekends and legal holidays.
What Town Meeting decided
In Whitman, Town Meeting — not the Select Board — votes the town budget, bylaws and zoning. Here is what it did with each article, in the Town Clerk’s own words. Any registered voter can take part, and most votes are by voice or show of hands, so there is no list of who voted which way.
Special Town Meeting · June 11, 2025 3 votes: 1 passed, 2 no action
Art. 2Revised FY2026 town operating budget (Article 2), total $53,332,128Passed“IN THE MAJORITY”
Art. 3Approve the Police Union (MassCOP Local 494) contract, July 2025 – June 2028, funded from free cashNo action“PASSED OVER”
Art. 4Approve the Fire Union (IAFF Local 1769) contract, July 2025 – June 2028, funded from free cashNo action“PASSED OVER”
Art. 10Set FY2025 spending limits for revolving accountsPassed“UNANIMOUSLY”
Art. 11Transfer $19,842.29 from free cash to the Opioid Settlement FundPassed“UNAMIMOSULY”
Art. 12Appropriate $9,800 from free cash for an Emergency Action Plan for the Harding Pond DamPassed“UNANIMOUSLY”
Art. 13Appropriate $16,500 from cemetery funds for a new lawn mowing tractorPassed“UNANIMOUSLY”
Art. 14Appropriate $7,000 from free cash for a chain link fence at the Hobarts Pond DamPassed“UNANIMOSULY”
Art. 15Appropriate $323,087.67 in Chapter 90 state road fundsPassed“UNANIMOUSLY”
Art. 16Appropriate $123,786 from the ambulance reserve account for Fire Department turnout gearPassed“UNANIMOUSLY”
Art. 17Appropriate $1,500 from free cash for General Code to update the town bylawsPassed“UNANIMOUSLY”
Art. 18Appropriate $47,000 from capital stabilization for fire panel replacement at the Police StationPassed as amended“UNANIMOUSLY AS AMENDED”
Art. 19Appropriate $68,140 from capital stabilization for an administrative police cruiserPassed as amended“UNANIMOUSLY AS AMENDED”
Art. 20Appropriate $21,000 from free cash for pool house and pump room upgradesPassed“UNANIMOUSLY”
Art. 21Appropriate $14,000 from free cash to replace a ground condenser in the server roomPassed“UNANIMOUSLY”
Art. 22Appropriate $30,303 from capital stabilization for new computers for Town Hall, Library, Police and FirePassed as amended“UNANIMOUSLY AS AMENDED”
Art. 23Appropriate $60,000 from capital stabilization to upgrade town phone systemsPassed as amended“UNANIMOUSLY AS AMENDED”
Art. 24Appropriate $75,000 from capital stabilization for a new Fire Department four-wheel drive vehiclePassed as amended“UNANIMOUSLY AS AMENDED”
Art. 25Appropriate $38,000 from capital stabilization for Town Hall heating circulator pumpsPassed as amended“UNANIMOUSLY AS AMENDED”
Art. 26Appropriate $75,000 from free cash for road repairPassed“UNANIMOUSLY”
Art. 27Appropriate $75,000 from free cash for sidewalk repair or replacementPassed“UNANIMOUSLY”
Art. 28Appropriate $58,722.95 from free cash for a chiller compressor at Whitman-Hanson Regional High SchoolNo action“PASSED OVER”
Art. 29Appropriate $86,189.30 from free cash for a fire panel at Whitman-Hanson Regional High SchoolNo action“PASSED OVER”
Art. 30Appropriate $54,188 from free cash to migrate the fire panel at Whitman-Hanson Regional High SchoolNo action“PASSED OVER”
Art. 31Appropriate $8,638.11 from free cash for a core router at Whitman-Hanson Regional High SchoolNo action“PASSED OVER”
Art. 32Appropriate $27,053.45 from free cash for a backup power (UPS) unit at Whitman-Hanson Regional High SchoolNo action“PASSED OVER”
Art. 33Appropriate $17,292.42 from free cash for wireless access points at Whitman-Hanson Regional High SchoolNo action“PASSED OVER”
Art. 34Appropriate $37,408 from free cash for wireless access points at Duval, Conley and Whitman Middle schoolsNo action“PASSED OVER”
Art. 35Appropriate $10,622 from free cash for backup power (UPS) units at Duval, Conley and Whitman Middle schoolsNo action“PASSED OVER”
Art. 36Appropriate $155,900 from free cash for engineering to seek state transportation funds (South Avenue Corridor)Passed as amended“UNANIMOUSLY AS AMENDED”
Art. 37Make the elected Treasurer-Collector an appointed position, subject to a town election votePassed“IN THE MAJORITY”
Art. 38Community Preservation: FY2025 administrative budget ($10,000) and reserves ($29,180 each for historic, housing, open space)Passed“UNANIMOUSLY”
Art. 39Community Preservation: $1,100 for plaques for surveyed historic sitesPassed“UNANIMOUSLY”
Art. 40Community Preservation: $30,000 for an Open Space and Recreation PlanPassed“UNANIMOUSLY”
Art. 41Amend the general and zoning bylaws to use gender-neutral wording ("Select Board")Passed“UNANIMOUSLY”
Art. 42Raise the need-based senior property tax exemption (Clause 17D) to $350Passed“UNANIMOUSLY”
Art. 43Raise the asset limit for the Clause 17D senior property tax exemption to $50,000Passed“UNANIMOUSLY”
Art. 44Raise the income limits for the Clause 41D senior property tax exemption to $35,000 single / $50,000 marriedPassed“UNANIMOUSLY”
Art. 45Raise the asset limits for the Clause 41D senior property tax exemption to $50,000 single / $65,000 marriedPassed“UNANIMOUSLY”
Art. 46Accept a property tax exemption of up to $500 for home changes that house a person 60 or older (Clause 50)Passed“UNANIMOUSLY”
Art. 47Accept a veteran property tax work-off abatement program (M.G.L. c. 59, s. 5N)Passed“UNANIMOUSLY”
Art. 48Accept Captain Allen Way as a public wayPassed“UNANIMOUSLY”
Art. 49Add $509,212 to the regional school budget, contingent on a Proposition 2½ overrideFailed“ARTICLE DEFEATED”
Art. 50Amend the zoning bylaw to add an MBTA Communities multifamily overlay districtPassed“IN THE MAJORITY”
Art. 51Citizens' petition: create a Whitman Veterans' Discretionary FundPassed as amended“UNANIMOUSLY AS AMENDED”
Art. 52Citizens' petition: fund a Town Clerk salary adjustmentNo action“PASSED OVER”
Not here yet: the May 2026 Annual Town Meeting and any Special Town Meetings after June 11, 2025 (no voted record posted on the Town Clerk's Town Meetings & Reports page yet).
Titles are short descriptions of each article from the official record; the quoted words are the Town Clerk’s. A vote at Town Meeting is not the final word on everything: some articles also need a ballot vote (such as a tax override) or the Attorney General’s approval (bylaws).
"At X of Y meetings" counts the members the minutes list as present at the start of each meeting in this record. Members who step out are listed on each meeting page.
Meetings
About missing minutes
Not here yet: we have loaded the Select Board’s minutes from January 2018 through September 8, 2026. The town has posted an agenda but no minutes for ten meetings in that time (for example February 5, 2020, February 7, 2024, and August 4, 2026), and minutes after September 8, 2026, are not posted yet. All minutes are typed; one file was a scan that we read with text recognition. Most votes are recorded as a count, such as 5-0 or 3-2 with the members who voted no named, or as a roll call. From May 2024 to May 2025 the minutes usually say only that a motion “carried,” without a count or names; for those 211 votes we show the result but not how each member voted. A few votes where the count does not match the members present, or where members chose between candidates instead of voting yes or no, are shown with a note and without individual votes. Votes by other boards at joint meetings (such as the School Committee, Finance Committee or Hanson Select Board) are not included. We will ask the town to confirm any noted vote.
May 21Approve the request of Melissa Strickland to hold a…Motion: to approve the request of Melissa Strickland to hold a Farmer's…Passed · see note
May 21, 2024: Approve the request of Melissa Strickland to hold a Farmer's Market in the Whitman Town Park (bandstand/pond area) on September 5, 12, 19 & 26, 2024, from 4:00 p.m. to…
ApprovePassed · No count or names in the minutes
To approve the request of Melissa Strickland to hold a Farmer's Market in the Whitman Town Park (bandstand/pond area) on September 5, 12, 19 & 26, 2024, from 4:00 p.m. to 7:45 p.m. (includes time for set-up and clean-up), subject to approval of the DPW and the approval of all permits required by the Board of Health. The Board also determined the Farmer's Market shall carry $1,000,000 liability insurance with the Town of Whitman identified as an additional insured
The minutes say only that the motion carried; they do not give a count or say how each member voted.
From the minutes
“Mr. Evans moved to approve the request of Melissa Strickland to hold a Farmer's Market in the Whitman Town Park (bandstand/pond area) on September 5, 12, 19 & 26, 2024, from 4:00 p.m. to 7:45 p.m. (includes time for set-up and clean-up), subject to approval of the DPW and the approval of all permits required by the Board of Health. The Board also determined the Farmer's Market shall carry $1,000,000 liability insurance with the Town of Whitman identified as an additional insured, seconded by Ms. Howe; the motion carried.” (Motion: Evans, second: Howe)
May 21Pass over the request of Chief Clancy to increase…Motion: to pass over the request of Chief Clancy to increase rates…Passed · see note
May 21, 2024: Pass over the request of Chief Clancy to increase rates for ambulance services
ApprovePassed · No count or names in the minutes
To pass over the request of Chief Clancy to increase rates for ambulance services
The minutes say only that the motion carried; they do not give a count or say how each member voted.
From the minutes
“Mr. Evans moved to pass over the request of Chief Clancy to increase rates for ambulance services, Ms. Howe seconded; the motion carried.” (Motion: Evans, second: Howe)
May 21Pass over the request of Treasurer-Collector Ken Lytle to…Motion: to pass over the request of Treasurer-Collector Ken Lytle to increase…Passed · see note
May 21, 2024: Pass over the request of Treasurer-Collector Ken Lytle to increase demand fees
ApprovePassed · No count or names in the minutes
To pass over the request of Treasurer-Collector Ken Lytle to increase demand fees
The minutes say only that the motion carried; they do not give a count or say how each member voted.
From the minutes
“Mr. Evans moved to pass over the request of Treasurer-Collector Ken Lytle to increase demand fees, seconded by Mr. Kain; the motion carried.” (Motion: Evans, second: Kain)
May 6Approve the use of Town Hall Auditorium by the…Motion: to approve the use of Town Hall Auditorium by the Whitman…Passed Unanimous, 4 present · see note
May 6, 2024: Approve the use of Town Hall Auditorium by the Whitman Cultural Council for Whitman Day 2024on June 8, 2024, in the event of inclement weather
ApprovePassed · Unanimous, 4 present
To approve the use of Town Hall Auditorium by the Whitman Cultural Council for Whitman Day 2024on June 8, 2024, in the event of inclement weather
Laura L. Howe had not yet arrived and did not take part in this vote.
From the minutes
“Mr. Salvucci MOVED to approve the use of Town Hall Auditorium by the Whitman Cultural Council for Whitman Day 2024on June 8, 2024, in the event of inclement weather. Second Mr. Evans, so voted 4-0.” (Motion: Salvucci, second: Evans)
May 6Approve the request of the Whitman Cultural Council to…Motion: to approve the request of the Whitman Cultural Council to reserve…Passed Unanimous, 4 present · see note
May 6, 2024: Approve the request of the Whitman Cultural Council to reserve the Town Hall auditorium on July 11, 18 & 25 and August 1 & 8, 2024, as an alternate location…
ApprovePassed · Unanimous, 4 present
To approve the request of the Whitman Cultural Council to reserve the Town Hall auditorium on July 11, 18 & 25 and August 1 & 8, 2024, as an alternate location for the summer concerts in the event of inclement weather
Laura L. Howe had not yet arrived and did not take part in this vote.
From the minutes
“Mr. Salvucci MOVED to approve the request of the Whitman Cultural Council to reserve the Town Hall auditorium on July 11, 18 & 25 and August 1 & 8, 2024, as an alternate location for the summer concerts in the event of inclement weather. Second Mr. Evans, so voted 4-0.” (Motion: Salvucci, second: Evans)
May 6Accept the contract between the Town of Whitman and…Motion: to accept the contract between the Town of Whitman and Deputy…Passed Unanimous, 4 present · see note
May 6, 2024: Accept the contract between the Town of Whitman and Deputy Fire Chief Thomas Ford
ApprovePassed · Unanimous, 4 present
To accept the contract between the Town of Whitman and Deputy Fire Chief Thomas Ford
Laura L. Howe had not yet arrived and did not take part in this vote.
From the minutes
“Mr. Salvucci MOVED to accept the contract between the Town of Whitman and Deputy Fire Chief Thomas Ford. Second Mr. Evans, so voted 4-0.” (Motion: Salvucci, second: Evans)
From the Whitman Select Board’s official minutes, posted on the town’s Agenda Center. We check every vote against the members present and quote the exact wording. MassVoter never grades or scores officials. Photos of current members: stills from WHCA-TV’s candidate interviews (Daniel Salvucci 2024; Justin Evans and Shawn Kain 2025; Dawn Byers and Christina Gorman 2026). Former members show initials.