September 30, 2022 By Carol Britton Meyer
Assistant Town Administrator for Finance Michelle Monsegur recently provided clarification on the local questions related to the proposed new Foster School and public safety facility that will appear on the Nov. 8 state election ballot to avoid confusion at the polls and for those who vote early in person or who vote by mail or absentee ballot. Voters will also consider four statewide ballot questions.
The local questions will appear on the back of the ballot, and unlike with the statewide ballot questions, the town is required to follow state-prescribed language and is not allowed to place information beside or beneath the questions about what a "yes" and what a "no" vote means.
As a way of starting to get the word out about these details, Monsegur explained that for both questions, a "yes" vote supports the town borrowing funds and raising taxes to construct the proposed new building, while a "no" vote does not support authorizing the town to borrow funds or raise taxes for that purpose.
Foster School ballot question #5 is worded as follows:
"Shall the Town of Hingham be allowed to exempt from the provisions of proposition two and-one-half, so called, the amounts required to pay for the bonds issued in order to pay the costs of professional fees, constructing, equipping and furnishing a new elementary school to replace the existing William L. Foster Elementary School located at 55 Downer Avenue, Hingham, MA (Lot 1 on Assessors’ Map 38)?"
Public Safety Facility Ballot Question #6 reads as follows:
"Shall the Town of Hingham be allowed to exempt from the provisions of proposition two and one-half, so-called, the amounts required to pay for the bonds issued in order to pay the costs of professional fees, constructing, equipping and furnishing a new Public Safety Facility located at 335 Lincoln Street, Hingham, MA?"
Funding for either one or both of the projects if approved would involve a debt exclusion(s), which is a temporary funding measure that excludes certain debt from counting against the Proposition 2-1/2 limit on year-to-year property tax levy increases.
In order to secure the requested funding for these projects, two-thirds of the voters at the Nov. 1 Special Town Meeting would have to vote favorably, while the ballot questions require a simple majority vote to gain approval to move forward with one or both of the projects.
Monsegur explained that because the meaning of ballot questions can be confusing because of the way they are required to be worded by the state, "a 'yes' vote means you want to build the building(s) -- vote 'no' if you don't."
The town will share information ahead of time with voters "and make sure that Town Clerk Carol Falvey and all of the election workers have information to be able to help folks understand the [ballot] questions that are being asked" before they vote on the questions.
"We want to ensure folks know what they are voting for when they cast their ballots," Select Board Chair William Ramsey said. "We'll be pushing this information out on social media to educate voters about what these votes actually mean."
As background, voters will be asked to fund the remainder of the full project cost of $113.3 million for a new Foster School, which includes the Massachusetts School Building Authority-approved $24.6 million contribution and the previously authorized $1.1 million for a feasibility study and $3.1 million for design development and pre-construction documents.
The price tag for the proposed new public safety facility is $46.7 million, with a projected borrowing of $48.3 million -- which includes the pre-construction costs authorized by Town Meeting in April 2022.
Board member Liz Klein explained that the dollar amounts are not allowed to be included in the questions.
Even if ballots are submitted before the Nov. 1 Special Town Meeting, voters are encouraged to respond to the questions, because they are still valid.
Not responding to the ballot questions does not disqualify the ballot or count as either a "yes" or a "no" vote.
The questions will appear on the Nov. 8 ballot whether or not STM voters approve one, both, or neither project because the ballots are printed ahead of time.
Select Board member Joseph Fisher suggested that the outcome of the STM vote on both projects be available "at the ballot box" following the meeting so that voters are aware of that information. "The outcome may affect how they vote, so it's important for voters to know whether STM approved the ballot questions and that [the ballot box vote] is the final step," he said.
Monsegur noted that those wishing to participate in the Nov. 1 Special Town Meeting must be registered voters in the Town of Hingham. The deadline is Oct. 22 to register in time to attend.
For further information, visit https://hingham-ma.gov/DocumentCenter/View/15545/Tax-Impact-Summary-for-Foster-School-and-PSF---September-20-2022.