April 22, 2026 By John Borger
On February 27th, I was a tentative Yes vote on the new Center for Active Living (CAL). Then the world changed. Even if normal traffic eventually resumes on the Strait of Hormuz, the disruptions to date and those likely to come portend a sour economic outlook. Space precludes a comprehensive review, but I am convinced that severe economic stress lies ahead for Hingham’s municipal budget and lowest income households. Now is the time for fiscal restraint, not $26 million non-essential projects in pursuit of the optimal. Especially for the most vulnerable among us, we need to tightly control spending and minimize tax increases.
During the March 24th Advisory Committee meeting, Brian Stack explained why he was one of five AdCom No votes on the CAL, noting that seniors responding to the Council on Aging’s 2022 survey identified affordability as their biggest concern. I urge you to read the survey report, Aging in Hingham. You will find that:
- 24% of households headed by someone age 65 and older have annual incomes under $25,000. (The 2026 federal poverty level for two seniors is $21,640.)
- 46% of Hingham’s senior households have less than $50,000 in annual income. (In contrast, the median household income in Hingham is $178,390.)
- 52% of the more than 1,000 survey respondents who submitted comments emphasized affordability as their biggest concern. Key quotes highlighted in the Report:
“Affordability is my greatest concern and worry. Every day I live on a fixed income, and it has become increasingly difficult each year to live in Hingham.”
“Taxes are getting very high; income is not.”
- Among those age 60-69, only 17% supported building “a new standalone senior center located elsewhere in Town.”
- Age 70-79, 18% supported that option.
- Age 80 and above, just 10% supported that option.
- 22% of those 80 and above did not support any changes to the current Senior Center.
- This overwhelming sentiment against a new, standalone senior center project is consistent with seniors avowed biggest fear – higher taxes.
Approximately 15% of Hingham’s seniors use the current Senior Center. How can we ask the 24% of senior households with incomes less than $25,000 to pay higher taxes so that the15% who are current users can have a new, supersized facility?
It is not just the tax increases associated with the CAL. Page 13 of the 2026 TM Warrant includes a table which shows relentlessly increasing revenue shortfalls in multiple recent Five-Year Forecasts. For FY 2027, the projected deficit four years out is almost $9 million. As the Advisory Committee tersely notes, “The increasing deficits projected in each Year 4 highlights the need for additional revenue or structural changes.” This section is titled “POTENTIAL OVERRIDE.”
And it is not just higher taxes. Heating oil prices are already up more than 30% since February 28th. More than half of Hingham households heat with oil. At current price trends, the average heating oil bill for a house in Massachusetts next year would exceed this past winter’s costs by over $1,300. It could be more, depending on how much longer the Iran stalemate drags on. Natural gas prices were up this past winter. LNG allows exports to compete with domestic use. With inventories down, a severe winter could further increase gas prices. Meanwhile, the Trump administration plans to eliminate heating assistance.
Prices have spiked for gasoline (up 40%), diesel (up 50%), and fertilizer (up 30% to 47%). Higher transportation and fertilizer costs mean higher food prices. Higher fuel and food prices hurt the most vulnerable among us, especially seniors on a fixed income. Some may confront a dismal choice next winter: hungry or cold?
2022 saw the highest inflation in 40 years, driven primarily by high energy and food costs following the Russian invasion of Ukraine and post-pandemic supply chain disruptions. The Council’s 2022 survey captured seniors’ acute distress. Resurgent inflation in 2027 would compound the cumulative impact, heightening the importance of respecting the economic concerns and spending priorities that seniors so clearly stated in the 2022 survey.
The lawn signs exhort us to “support our seniors.” For me, financially comfortable at age 78, that means acting in accordance with their biggest concerns and stated preferences. In 2022, asked to indicate their level of agreement with “Local policy makers consider the interests and concerns of older residents”, 47% responded either Do not Know or Strong Disagree/Disagree. Let us not further erode already frayed trust.
I applaud the extraordinary work contributed over several years by the CAL building committee. But this is the wrong time to opt for a big increase in non-essential spending.
If things work out better than expected, we can re-evaluate where we are next year and revisit this project. For now, I just cannot support imposing higher taxes on already struggling senior households. I have to reluctantly change my vote to No.