Hingham Residents Review Town Budget, Senior Center Plans

HINGHAM - Hingham voters got a closer look at how their tax dollars may be spent in the upcoming fiscal year during a Warrant Review presentation hosted by the League of Women Voters of Hingham and the Linden Ponds Political Interest Committee. The event brought together residents, town officials and Advisory Committee members ahead of the April 28 Annual Town Meeting.

The League of Women Voters is a nonpartisan political organization encouraging the informed and active participation of citizens in government and has presented this program for the last ten years.

“We believe that democracy is not a spectator sport and our female and male members actively support voter rights, education and civic engagement,” said Liza O’Reilly, steering committee chair for the League of Women Voters of Hingham. The League of Women Voters of Hingham has members residing at Hingham, Hull, and Cohasset.

$165M Budget Includes Education, Public Safety, Capital Costs

Advisory Committee Chair Tina Sherwood presented a breakdown of Hingham’s proposed $165.3 million budget for Fiscal Year 2026, noting that the budget reflects a 5.5% increase from the previous year.

“We are responsible as the advisory committee for presenting a balanced budget to the town,” Sherwood said. “The town’s budget has to balance. We cannot deficit spend.”

About 75% of the proposed budget is allocated to personnel costs, with education accounting for 49% of total spending. Municipal services like public safety, public works, and human services make up 23%, while benefits and debt service represent 27%.

Sherwood noted that Hingham has limited ways to grow its revenue. “About 80% of our revenue comes from property tax and the vast majority of property in Hingham is residential,” she said. “New growth though has slowed substantially and currently there really are no near term major developments in the forecast.”

In 2023, voters approved an $8 million operational override. As part of that approval, town and school budgets are now limited to a 3.5% annual growth rate under a financial management plan supported by town leaders.

“At that time, the select board school committee advisory committee, the town administrator and the school superintendent agreed to this financial management plan and made a commitment to the town that we will not pursue another operational override in the next three years,” Sherwood said.

Voters to Consider $2.5M for New Senior Center Planning

One of the most anticipated articles heading into this year’s Town Meeting concerns a proposed $2.5 million in schematic design and planning costs for a new Center for Active Living, proposed for Bare Cove Park Drive.

“As we know, the Center for Active Living article is going to ask the town for $2.5 million from our unassigned fund balance to complete schematic design, bid documents and owner’s, project manager funds,” Sherwood said.

She explained that the project would enter a yearlong design phase before returning to Town Meeting in 2026 for full funding consideration. The current total project estimate is approximately $35 million.

“At town meeting, we're going to vote two and a half million dollars from our unassigned fund balance to answer two questions,” she said. “One, do we need to move forward with a schematic design for a senior center? And number two is Bare Cove the right location.”

What’s Next

Hingham Town Meeting is scheduled for Monday, April 28, with a potential second night on April 29. If necessary, a third session would be held on May 5. You can watch the full video at Harbor Media.

For more Hingham news, visit South Shore Times’ Hingham homepage.