Hingham Finance Committee Recommends Six FY27 Budgets, Advances Two Warrant Articles

HINGHAM -- February 3, 2026, Hingham's Finance Committee recommended roughly $9.6 million in combined departmental appropriations at its February 3 meeting, covering six departments and two employee benefits accounts. The committee approved budgets for the Center for Active Living at $451,800, Veteran Services at $277,789, the Health Department at $343,779, and the Accounting Department at $464,460, plus flat budgets for GAR Hall and Celebrations totaling roughly $17,600. Finance Director of Analysis Katie Eichner reported that the town's general insurance costs dropped 6.27 percent to $1,753,379 after a competitive rebid through Richardson Insurance secured coverage through Chubb, savings of close to $300,000 relative to the FY26 budget, while the contributory retirement contribution rose 4.97 percent to $7,547,646. Eichner also flagged that the town's OPEB funding schedule, which targets full funding of a $101.7 million liability by 2040, has not been updated since 2014, warning that a one-percent shift in the discount rate alone could swing the unfunded liability by $12 million. The committee voted unanimously to advance a warrant article fixing elected officer salaries and to discharge three town committees, the Energy Action Committee, the 2017 School Building Commission, and the Public Safety Building Committee, with the Center for Active Living's fourth consecutive request for a nutrition coordinator coordinator again excluded from the recommended budget.