Vote YES for the OVERRIDE!
Monday, April 24 (Town Meeting) & Saturday, April 29 (Town Election)*
*Majority vote required at both
Each of us chose to live here because of what the town could offer us: a safe and supportive community with beautiful outdoor spaces to enjoy; a solid school system, with strong academics and sports; and a vibrant, historic harborside downtown, to name a few. The last few years have seen rising costs and increasing needs not just in Hingham, but across the country. These are making it difficult to maintain the level of services that are not only important to us but allow us to have the strong sense of community that we do.
The recommended override will enable us to maintain these services across our town while modestly investing in the most critical town services.
Thus far, Hingham has managed these increasing expenses (many out of our control!) by relying on one-time money and excess fund balance. However, we cannot exceed the restrictions imposed by Proposition 2 1/2, and new growth, once a strong source of revenue for our town, is slowing. An override is necessary to preserve the community we value.
These are not financial deficits that came out of nowhere but have been known and discussed year over year. We knew that we would need to eventually reset our tax base to maintain our services to our citizens. NOW is the year that we must do so.
Our budgets are a statement about what we believe is important to invest in for our families, our friends and our future. So we ask you, what do you value? If it includes taking care of one other and giving our community and our children a strong future, then please VOTE YES on April 24th and April 29th.
