Hingham Select Board Approves $75,000 Pavement Contract, Clears Town Meeting Warrant Articles

HINGHAM — January 27, 2026 — Hingham Select Board unanimously clears ten town meeting articles and approves a $75,000 pavement marking contract at its January 27 meeting. Town Administrator Tom Mayo reported that FY27 departmental budget requests came in at $38,447,617, roughly $60,000 under the town's 3.5 percent annual growth cap established by a 2023 memorandum of understanding, with the biggest driver being a drop in collective bargaining retro payments from $1.7 million to $346,000 under Article 4. The board approved a one-year agreement with K5 Corporation of Rockland for townwide pavement markings at a not-to-exceed price of $75,000. Budget presentations from the fire, police, harbor master, IT, animal control, and assessing departments were received without formal votes; Fire Chief Steve Murphy flagged a roughly $25,000 annual cost increase from South Shore Hospital beginning to charge for ambulance linen services. Mayo also reported that Hingham received AAA bond ratings from both Moody's and S&P, attributing the outcome in significant part to Finance Director Katie Dugan.