HINGHAM — Total fiscal year 2027 budget requests from all departments amount to $38.45 million, just under the $38.5 million budget cap, meaning Hingham should be able to balance the budget without significant reductions to departmental funding.
Back in 2023, the Select Board, School Committee, and Advisory Committee agreed to cap yearly increases for school and municipal budgets at 3.5%, excepting self-funding departments. This year, departmental requests are nearly $60,000 under that maximum budget increase, which allows the town to grant additional budget requests to some departments.
A few departments strayed higher than that 3.5% cap, forcing others to limit their increase further. Here are the biggest budget and capital requests presented at the Jan. 27 Select Board meeting.
Police and fire
The fire department’s most significant new request is an additional $13 million for EMT services, including stipends for EMTs, a Building Maintenance Coordinator and Training Coordinators.
The department’s other stipend expenses nearly quadrupled, from $52,000 appropriated in fiscal year 2026 to $200,000 requested for fiscal year 2027, thanks to a new stipend for paramedic services.
New union contracts bumped its budget request for wage expenses to $6.48 million, up nearly 11% from last year’s appropriation.
Like the fire department, the police department requested a 10.3%, or about $500,000, increase in its wage expenses budget in accordance with a collective bargaining agreement.
Changes in the police department also freed up $73,000 for fiscal year 2027. The town intends to eliminate a clerk position that is currently unfilled, and it will save money after the retirement of a senior lieutenant this year.
The biggest request from the Harbormaster’s Office, which operates under the police department, is an additional $2.5 million to pay slip fees, which have risen to $4,300 per foot for 58 feet of total boat length. Their other large requested increase is $23,250 to fund two employee training courses that will be partially funded by a federal grant.
Information technology
The IT department is requesting an additional $25,000 to improve the town’s cybersecurity, which could fund an agreement for a private company to monitor the town’s cybersecurity outside of work hours.
It is also requesting another $25,000 to continue its current contracts, some of which will be more costly in FY27. That brings their total increase over FY26 to 4.4%.
“A lot of our contractor services go up five, 6% a year,” said Bill Hartigan, Director of Information Technology. “So we try to keep under the 3.5%, but much like some of the collective bargaining, sometimes they are, sometimes they aren't.”
Next steps
Departments are not guaranteed all of the funding that they requested, and the town will have to decide which departments and services to prioritize ahead of the budget vote at the annual town meeting April 27.
The Select Board will hear more departmental budget requests at its Feb. 3 meeting.
“Our departments are so good. They're disciplined. They come in and ask for what they need,” Town Administrator Tom Mayo said. “Some departments are having some reductions based on their departmental requests. Others are going to get some of the additional requests.”
For more South Shore news, subscribe to our newsletter.
About the South Shore Times
The South Shore Times is an independent, locally-owned digital news platform, free to readers, that covers communities south of Boston. Our articles are written by South Shore reporters, not AI.