HINGHAM, Mass. (WBZ NewsRadio) — Hingham residents verbally voted to raise property taxes to save school athletics and key service positions at an annual town meeting Monday.
The budget override would avoid cutting $6 million in expenses. This would include all high school freshman sports and other after-school programs, several support jobs in the town's police and fire departments, field maintenance, and trash pickup. All in all, about 19 town jobs and 46 school jobs would be eliminated.
Now the issue will go to voters during this Saturday's local election. The override would need to pass by a majority vote in order to make the change official.
"I would just say yes, absolutely, we have to support our children, our school," said Katie, a parent and proponent of the tax hike. "It’s what makes Hingham so amazing."
"They should manage their money properly," said Brian, an opponent to the proposal. "They should stop giving people in political positions more money and maybe they should take a pay cut."
"I feel like the town should be more fiscally responsible, and I don’t want to increase my taxes," another opponent told WBZ NewsRadio Tuesday. "I do pay excise tax in the town and it’s fairly high."
Other residents, like Jay Moran, are undecided.
"[The opponents] feel the town should be able to manage the money better," Moran said. "In this town, if it has anything to do with the school system, it passes. You know there’s people who think parents who have kids in school should pay for [those] extra things after school, but this is a town that loves to spend money.
WBZ's Kim Tunnicliffe (@KimWBZ) reports.
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