Inside Town Finances

Inform and Educate

In 2020 / 2021 the Select Board’s Office introduced “Inside Town Finances”, a weekly one-page publication designed to inform and educated the community on various municipal financial topics. Topics to be explored included revenue sources, local receipts, Proposition 2 1/2 , expenses, Fund Balance, and enterprise funds.

Inside Town Finances: Read and Watch All Volumes

  Description  Download  and Read  the PDF Document Watch Mary Power Review the Volume, Courtesy of Harbor Media
Volume 1 - Revenue Provides an overview of Town revenue sources and how the tax levy, our largest source of revenue is calculated. (Jan 14, 2020)

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Volume 2 - Local Receipts Explores Local Receipts, which make up about 10% of total Town revenue and include motor vehicle excise tax, ambulance revenue, investment income, and more. (Jan 20, 2021)

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Volume 3 - Excluded Debt Outlines how excluded debt works and explains how the Town uses these temporary tax increases to finance large school and municipal projects. (Jan 26, 2021)

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Volume 4 - Property Tax Bills 75% of Hingham’s revenue comes from property taxes, which are paid quarterly. Check out Volume 4 of Inside Town Finances on the Board of Selectmen website to learn how the Town calculates your property tax bill. (Feb 2, 2021) 

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Volume 5 - Proposition 2 1/2 and the Impact of Voter-Authorized Tax Increases Delves into operating overrides and debt exclusions to explore how voter-authorized tax increases impact property tax bills over time. (Feb 9, 2021) Read (PDF) Watch Video
Volume 6 - Fund Balance Explores how Fund Balance (also known as Free Cash or Available Reserves) is calculated and how it can be used according to the Town’s financial policy. (Feb 16, 2021)  Read (PDF) Watch Video
Volume 7 - Expenses Groups Town expenses into three main categories - municipal services, education services, and shared expenses - and analyzes expense trends over time. (Feb 23, 2021) Read (PDF) Watch Video
Volume 8 - Municipal Expenses Looks at the different categories of municipal expenses, including General Government, Public Safety, Public Works, Human Services, and Culture and Recreation (Mar. 2, 2021) Read (PDF) Watch Video
Volume 9 - Five Year Forecast Explains how the Town uses the Five-Year Forecast as an important tool to inform the annual budget process, financial goal setting, and personnel management activities.  (Mar 9, 2021) Read (PDF) Watch Video
Volume 10 - Enterprise Funds and Sewer Provides an overview of the Town’s enterprise funds and the business-like services that they support. (Mar. 16, 2021) Read (PDF) Watch Video
Volume 11 - Hingham's Bond Rating Explains why the Town’s AAA bond rating is so important and what factors impact our credit worthiness.  Read (PDF) Watch VIdeo
Volume 12 - Long Terrm Liabilities Provides an overview of the Town’s pension and other post-employment benefits (OPEB) liabilities.  Read (PDF) Watch VIdeo
Volume 13 - Capital Improvements Explains how the Town budgets and plans for capital improvements according to our Financial Policy to ensure we are taking proper care of municipal facilities and equipment.     Read (PDF) Watch Video
Volume 14 - Real Estate Assessments Explains the role of the Assessor's Office and how real estate assessments are determined Read (PDF) Watch Video
Volume 15 - Overrides and Debt Exclusions NEW! - Explains the difference between an override and a debt exclusion and explores the tax impact of each.  Read (PDF) Watch Video
Inside Town Finances v8
Inside Town Finances v7