News Flash

Dear Hingham Residents,

Happy New Year!

This is a monthly update from my office that I hope will prove helpful for residents to stay informed.   To receive this update and other important Town news via email, please subscribe to *Hingham General News and Announcements*.  As always, please reach out with questions and feedback.

Save the Date

2024 Annual Town Meeting:  Wednesday, April 24th at 7 PM, Hingham High School.   Please note the date change due to the Passover holiday observance.  And please make every effort to attend.  Hingham’s form of government works best when everyone participates.   

2023 Highlights 

As a Town, there were many notable accomplishments in 2023.  Below is a list of impactful milestones, in no particular order.  

1. Beginning construction of new elementary school and new Public Safety Facility
2. Creation of a new Financial Management Plan agreement which governs expenditure growth control for a 3 year period
3. Established the Master Plan Implementation Committee and began the work of implementing the vision approved last year
4. Appointments of 23 new full-time employees, not including several dozen new part-time and/or temporary employees in many departments such as Recreation and South Shore Country Club
5. Implementation of new Customer Relations Management phone app called MyHingham to make it easy for the public to notify the Town of an issue and to track a response
6. Invested over $3.2 in capital improvements for the Weir River Water System, including completing over 4,100 LF of water main replacement in Hingham and Hull, so far reducing our unaccounted for water by 6%
7. Issued over 3,100 permits out of the Building Department, and conducted over 5,100 building inspections
8. Responded to approximately 25,000 calls for Police services, and 5,000 calls for Fire services
9. Lent a total of 352,448 physical and digital items to patrons from the Hingham Public Library, supporting 9,181 registered active borrowers while offering 465 programs
10. Offered 200 Recreation programs serving over 4,300 participants (including 150 children’s programs)

FY25 Budgets

We are using the newly implemented budgeting software, ClearGov to facilitate efficiency and transparency this budget season.  Departmental budgets will be reviewed at Select Board meetings throughout the month of January.  Listening to the department budget presentations is a great way to quickly get up to speed on what’s going on at Town Hall.  Each Department reviews their key functions and initiatives as well as budget requests. At this stage in the process, level services requests are being presented to the Select Board and Advisory Committee.  

MBTA Communities

Community Planning Director Emily Wentworth provided an update on MBTA Communities to the Select Board on July 25th.  The Planning Board has worked with a consultant to draft potential zoning by-law changes, submitted on December 1st.  Public hearings will be held prior to Town Meeting.  Any zoning by-law would need to be approved by a 2/3 vote at Town Meeting in April.

Road Safety

Following Town Meeting’s action in the spring, the Select Board has voted to enact 25 mph speed limits in thickly settled and business areas around Hingham.  Speed limits have been changed and signage has been installed in many neighborhoods. The Select Board is continuing to evaluate traffic calming measures in the downtown area, with the advisement of the Traffic Committee and our Historic Administrator.  Town Engineer and Traffic Committee will present speed data to the Select Board on January 16^th as we continue to balance public safety with inconvenience and aesthetics.  

Goals for FY24

The Select Board has defined the following as Goals for FY24 (July 1, 2023 – June 30, 2024).   The Quarter 2 progress highlights will be discussed at the Select Board meeting on January 23rd.

1. Build the Team 
2. Drive Process Improvement
3. Identify Revenue Opportunities 
4. Implement the Master Plan 
5. Manage Large Capital Projects/Infrastructure

Plastic Water Bottle Ban

Single serve plastic water bottles will no longer be sold or distributed in Hingham.  The retail ban went into effect on January 1^st.  

Center for Active Living

The Center for Active Living/Senior Center Building Committee is planning to release a RFQ (Request for Qualifications) this month to hire an architect to conduct a feasibility analysis and develop a preliminary design of a new facility at the 2 proposed sites:  Town Hall and Bare Cove Park.  

MyHingham

The Town of Hingham is excited to launch MyHingham, a new mobile citizen engagement application.  The MyHingham App aims to enhance communication, streamline service delivery, and foster a sense of community. Through the user-friendly platform, residents can now conveniently connect with their local government, report issues, and stay informed about important updates right from the palm of their hands.  To download the free app, go to the Apple App Store or Google Play Store and search “MyHingham”.

 Please email me at kleinl@hingham-ma.gov with any comments or questions.  

Best Regards, 

Liz Klein
Select Board, Chair