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Town Administrator

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The Town of Hingham By-Law
Establishing the Position of
Town Administrator

ARTICLE 5
SELECTMEN

SECTION 1 To the extent permitted by law and except as otherwise provided by law or these bylaws, the selectmen shall have the general direction and management of the property and affairs of the town. This section shall not apply to property in the custody or use of any town department, officer, or committee. The selectmen are authorized and empowered, in accordance with the provisions of Chapter 41, Section 23A, of the Massachusetts General Laws, to appoint a town administrator for a term of one or three years and to remove him at their discretion. No appointee prior to July 1, 1993 shall theretofore have held elective or appointive office within the town, or have served as a regular or special employee of the town. A town administrator appointed under the provisions of this section shall be sworn to the faithful performance of his duties. During the time he holds office he shall hold no elective town office within the town, but he may be appointed by the selectmen or, with their approval, by any other town officer, board, committee or commission, to any other town office or position consistent with his office. He shall receive such aggregate compensation, not exceeding the amount appropriated therefor, as the selectmen may determine. He shall act on behalf of the selectmen in any matter which they may assign to him relating to the administration of the affairs of the town or of any town office or department under their supervision or control, including the timely preparation of a proposed budget for the town for the ensuing fiscal year, which budget shall be submitted to the advisory committee by the selectmen pursuant to the provisions of Article 14, Section 4, of these bylaws. With the approval of the selectmen, the town administrator may assist the personnel board in the administration of the personnel bylaw and may perform such other duties as may be requested of him by any other town officer, board, committee or commission.

2010 Annual Report

After 16 years as the Town's Finance Director, it is with great honor that I submit my first report to the citizens of the Town of Hingham as the Town Administrator.

The past year we have implemented both financial and operational initiatives that helped to guide the Town through the turbulent economic conditions that have befallen us since 2008. With the cooperation and contributions of boards, committees, and staff throughout the Town we have seen these initiatives, enumerated below, come to fruition and provide the benefits that we had hoped for when they were first undertaken. It is our hope that the Town will continue to realize the benefits of these labors for many years to come.

Driven by the decrease in financial resources, and combined with the constant upward pressure of service delivery demands, the Town adjusted its budget philosophy to meet the dramatically changed environment. The changed approach to the annual budget was incorporated into a significant revision of the Town's financial policy by the Advisory Committee, and endorsed by both the Board of Selectmen and the School Committee. These efforts were recognized when Moody's Investor Services, a bond rating agency that had placed a negative outlook upon the Town's AAA bond rating in 2009, lifted the negative outlook in October of 2010, and reaffirmed the Town's AAA bond rating.

While the Town's efforts in regionalizing our public safety dispatch services with the Towns of Hull, Cohasset and Norwell did not open as soon as expected, much progress was made, and construction is expected to conclude in April of 2011, with the center being operationally by early summer. The center is expected to greatly enhance regional public safety while producing savings for all four towns.

In May of 2010 the Town received a $750,000 State grant from the Commonwealth to assist in the development of South Shore Hospital's Bone & Muscle Center in the South Hingham industrial park. The grant was the product of a year- long effort by the Town's Community Planning and Project Engineering departments along with the Selectmen's Office and the property developers, A.W. Perry. The project, which broke ground in May of 2010, is projected to add in excess of $180,000 of tax revenue to the Town yearly.

The success of the town's combined efforts on the Bone & Muscle Center led to the greater focus on the opportunity to enhance development within the South Hingham industrial zone. It was quickly determined that any development within the industrial zone would require infrastructure improvements to the Derby Street transportation corridor and the creation of a wastewater collection system. Again, the Selectmen's Office, working with the Community Planning and Project Engineering departments initiated a more detailed analysis of the options to provide the needed infrastructure improvements that would allow for economic expansion within the whole South Hingham industrial zone.

2010 saw the retirement of Virginia "Ginny" Thursby from the Building Department, and while her humor and wonderful approach the job will be greatly missed, Jean Kehoe has provided a seamless transition. The same is warranted for Michael Cunningham, the Town's Veterans' Agent, who moved on to the challenge of a larger organization. Michael's service to the Town's veterans was exemplary, and the Town is gratified that one of its own residents, Keith Jermyn, ably stepped forward to provide a seamless transition for the veterans.

I want to thank the Board of Selectmen for its support, the department heads and administrators, as well as the town employees and volunteers, particularly Betty Foley, Betty Tower, and Marilyn Harrington in the Selectmen's office, for their helpfulness and cooperation during the past year. Success is a cooperative effort, and I look forward to a productive year serving the Hingham community in 2011.

Ted C. Alexiades
Town Administrator