Annual Report Town of Hingham 2015 1 Table of Contents GENERAL ADMINISTRATION Selectmen .................................................................. 5 Town Administrator ................................................... 10 Town Clerk Elected Officers and Appointees ........................... 12 Annual Town Meeting .......................................... 32 Appropriations .................................................... 55 Elections Town Election ................................................... 62 Vital Statistics ...................................................... 66 Community Planning Building Department ........................................... 66 Conservation Commission .................................... 67 Planning Board ................................................... 69 Zoning Board of Appeals...................................... 72 Historic Districts Commission ............................... 74 Historical Commission ......................................... 75 Personnel Board ........................................................ 78 PUBLIC WORKS Dept. of Public Works ................................................ 80 Sewer Commission .................................................... 85 Municipal Light Plant ................................................. 87 PUBLIC SAFETY Fire Department/Emergency Management .................. 90 Police Department ..................................................... 93 Traffic Committee ............................................... 97 Traffic Safety Division .......................................... 98 Harbormaster ..................................................... 99 EDUCATION, HEALTH AND HUMAN CONCERNS Affordable Housing Trust ......................................... 102 Audit Committee ..................................................... 104 Bare Cove Park Committee ...................................... 105 Bathing Beach, Trustees of ...................................... 108 Beautification Commission ....................................... 110 Cable TV Advisory Committee .................................. 112 Community Preservation Committee ......................... 114 Country Club Management Committee ..................... 117 Development & Industrial Commission ..................... 121 Elder Services, Dept. of ........................................... 123 2 Fourth of July Parade .............................................. 126 Grand Army Hall ..................................................... 134 Harbor Development Committee .............................. 136 Health, Board of ..................................................... 139 Herbert L. Foss Committee ...................................... 141 Hingham Housing Authority ..................................... 142 Logan Airport C.A.C. ................................................ 144 Long Range Waste Disposal & Recycling Committee ........................................................ 146 Memorial Bell Tower Committee ............................... 151 Plymouth County Mosquito Control ........................... 151 Public Library .......................................................... 154 Public Schools ......................................................... 158 Recreation Commission ........................................... 163 School Building Committee ...................................... 166 Scholarship Fund Committee ................................... 168 Shade Tree Committee ............................................ 171 Veterans' Services ................................................... 172 Water Company Acquisition Study Comm. ................ 174 Water Supply Committee ......................................... 174 Weir River Estuary Committee ................................. 176 FINANCES Accountant/Finance Director .................................... 179 Treasurer/Collector ................................................. 186 Assessors ............................................................... 189 Contributory Retirement Board ................................ 190 Report compiled and edited by Sharon Perfetti Cover Design by Kate Richardsson, IT 3 This is Your Town www.hingham-ma.gov USN LST Hingham Shipyard Area 22.59 Square Miles Shore Line 21 Miles Population 22,368 Registered Voters 16,768 Dem. 3,999; Rep. 3,126; Unenrolled, 9,538; Other, 105 Number of Houses, including Condos 7249 Assessed Value Real Property $6,076,591,660 Personal Property $98,762,540 Tax Rate $12.49 Schools 6 Public School Children, PreK-12 4,328 Professional Staff 369 Support Staff 308 Total FY2016 Town Budget (includes Capital) $98,088,561 Total FY2016 School Budget (includes Capital) $46,402,200 State Senator State Rep. State Rep. Norfolk-Plymouth Third Plymouth Dist. Fourth Norfolk Dist. Robert Hedlund Precincts 1,3,4,5,5A,6 Precinct 2 State House, Garrett Bradley James Murphy Rm. 313C State House, Rm. 478 State House, Rm. 443 Boston, MA 02133 Boston, MA 02133 Boston, MA 02133 617-722-7646 617-722-2520 617-722-2460 4 Mary Power, Paul Healey, Paul Gannon Board of Selectmen 2015 in Hingham ushered in an unprecedented winter season with over 100 inches of snow. Our community rose to the challenge and our residents, Town employees and contractors alike all worked tirelessly to weather the snow. Our special thanks to the Police and Fire departments for their great work during this difficult time. Our Town’s Aaa bond rating remains intact and we continue to exercise prudence in our spending. We have seen earlier periods of expansive growth leveling off along with the underlying revenues. In the face of continued expectations for the high level of services that Hingham has come to expect, the Board of Selectmen has sent an unequivocal message of heightened fiscal restraint in the budget process. Faced with looming capital improvements to replace aging infrastructure, the Board has encouraged a town-wide conversation to examine how best to address and prioritize the growing needs of the Fire Department, the Schools, the Senior Center, the Police Department, as well as the needs of the Recreation Department and Town Hall. As always, we’re optimistic about the future, but recognize the need to approach these matters realistically. 5 To that end, in November 2015, we revived the Town Forum and provided a platform for the conversation on how best to approach these growing infrastructure needs. The discourse was respectful and thoughtful. Issues of consequence were addressed and a free exchange of views gave all of our citizens the opportunity to weigh in with their concerns and questions. In line with this, and in response to a steadily growing chorus of concerns raised by our residents on the condition of our roadways, the Board has proposed an aggressive initiative designed to increase the number of streets to be repaired and upgraded by the Department of Public Works. Working with contractors to upgrade existing subsurface utility, our goal overall is to provide a network of streets within Hingham that are safe to travel on, both for vehicular and pedestrian traffic. We have likewise engaged Design Consultants Inc. to provide a detailed engineering study on the Summer Street Corridor with an eye towards moving forward on changes to vehicle and pedestrian traffic in the Harbor area. The Town also continues to examine the consequences of the 2012 FEMA flood maps which speak to potential adverse impacts to residents, commercial businesses and Town properties. We are in the process of examining a study speaking to the seawalls in our harbor’s waterfront areas, examining both resiliency and restoration. Consistent with the 2015 ATM vote, the Board continues to work towards executing a long term lease with the Hingham Maritime Center for Barnes Wharf. We anticipate a warrant article at this year’s 2016 ATM for approval of a building at the waterfront calculated to enhance the beneficial use of the waterfront for our citizenry. We are pleased to announce that substantial grant funding has been secured for this initiative. Our special thanks to the hard work of the Engineering Department, Roger Fernandes, the Harbor Development Committee, the Bathing Beach Trustees and our Town Administrator. The development potential in the Derby Street Corridor area continues to be examined by the South Hingham Working Group. Formed in 2013, the SHWG has held numerous public meetings and has solicited the input of the stakeholders and interested residents. Interest in this issue is robust and all interested parties have substantively contributed to the consideration of the issues. The examination reveals both the constraints and the opportunities that exist for future development. The Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MA DOT) has also approved the proposed work on the Derby Street corridor, as well as the Whiting/Derby Street intersection. It is anticipated that the construction 6 work will be concurrent so as to minimize the disruptive effect of this undertaking. Our thanks to Roger Fernandes for his dedication and effort on this, as well as the support from our legislative contingent for the Derby Street corridor improvements, harbor improvements and other projects. As the Town approached an annual budget of one hundred million dollars, the Board continues to keep a promise made to taxpayers to employ meals tax revenues and unused levy capacity to mitigate the impact of tax increases arising out of earlier voter approval of the new Middle School and other Town projects.