September 10, 2026 By Carol Britton Meyer
Special Town Meeting voters on Oct. 29 will decide the outcome of two warrant articles related to funding for the proposed Plymouth River and South Elementary School roof replacement projects.
Funding each of these projects is contingent on a t
wo-thirds vote of approval at the Special Town Meeting under separate warrant articles and a subsequent majority vote of approval on debt exclusion questions at the ballot box for each proposal.
The select board this week voted to include two local debt exclusion questions on the Nov. 3 special town election ballot – the same date as the state election – to fund the two roofs. This will be a separate ballot from the state ballot that lists the candidates for office and several ballot questions.
A debt exclusion is a temporary property tax increase to pay for a specific capital project over a certain number of years and requires voter approval as described above – at a Town Meeting or Special Town Meeting and also at the ballot box.
If a warrant article fails to pass at a Town/Special Town Meeting, the related ballot question(s) remain on the ballot because there would not be time to remove them, but the results wouldn’t count.
The estimate for the South School roof at this time is about $8.26 million, and the estimate for the Plymouth River roof project is about $16.06 million. Both those figures are subject to change.
The select board voted recently to submit the schematic design and associated documents for both proposed roof projects to the Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA) for partial reimbursement following a presentation by School Building Committee Chair Angela Thedinga.
The Special Town Meeting date coincides with the MSBA’s deadlines related to partial reimbursement under its Accelerated Repair Program for the elementary roof projects, at an estimated rate of 36.89%.
Both projects were submitted to the MSBA in spring 2025 and accepted into the Accelerated Repair Program in October 2025. The MSBA assigned the Owners Project Manager and designer firms in January 2026, and design work has been underway since that time.
On Sept. 22, the select board and advisory committee will discuss financing plan/debt scenarios and the expected tax impact of the PRS and South School projects.
A tax calculator will be available on the town website to help property owners determine what the impact of these two projects would be on their property taxes if the warrant articles pass and there is a majority vote in favor at the ballot box.
Information sessions will be held the first three weeks in October at the time when requested Vote-by Mail ballots will be arriving at voters’ homes, Assistant Town Administrator for Finance Katie Dugan said, noting that the figures related to the cost of the two proposed projects will not appear in the debt exclusion questions.
“There will be no figures on the ballots, but the information will be out there,” Dugan said.
For further information, go to https://www.hingham-ma.gov/719/Current-Warrant-Articles.