The Hingham Select Board, with new Chair William Ramsey, returning member Liz Klein, and newly elected member Julie Strehle, has set its goals for the Fiscal Year that begins on July 1, 2025.
The goals, announced at last week’s meeting, focus on five themes: Investment in Infrastructure, Financial Stewardship, Economic Development, Building the Team, and Enhancing Communications.
With the completion of the new Foster School, and the new Public Safety Facility recently opening, a top priority under Investment in Infrastructure is working on the design of the proposed new Hingham Center for Active Living (HCAL), as approved by Town Meeting in April.
Attention to Financial Stewardship earned through prudent budgeting and effective long-term planning, including a continued commitment to the Town’s Fiscal years 2024-2028 Financial Management Plan, has given Hingham a coveted AAA rating from bond rating agencies including Standard & Poor’s and Moody’s. The Select Board intends to explore non-tax revenue ideas and work with the Town Administrator to re-engage the Sustainable Budget Task Force to continue financial planning efforts.
Hingham has three prime areas for continued Economic Development in its historic Downtown, the destination Shipyard, and the Hingham/Rockland Corridor abutting Route 3. All three of these areas are the focus of the Town’s Economic Development Strategic Plan Report, begun in October 2024 and most recently presented for public input and discussion on June 10th. Watch a recording of the presentation.
Building the Team, and its maintenance, is as important in municipal government as it is in a well-run business. Hingham strives for a public service workforce that people want to join, from professional positions to resident volunteers on boards and committees. Mutual trust, respect, understanding, communications, and cooperation keeps the town functioning and services delivered.
The Select Board recognizes that the town works best when there is clear, open, and Enhanced Communications between its residents and those they have entrusted with the day-to-day operations of the town and its long-term planning. To that end, the Select Board looks to consider rotating Select Board meeting locations to showcase Town and community facilities; enhance the popular MyHingham app by expanding its request and notification functions among other innovations and investments; and hold an annual fall meeting with all board/committee chairs to share priorities and offer refresher trainings on Open Meeting Law, Public Records Law, and best municipal practices.
Meet Julie Strehle, newest member of the Hingham Select Board.
Julie Strehle joined the Select Board on May 5th after being elected on May 3rd. Strehle campaigned on promoting Communications, Sustainable and Supportive Infrastructure, Fiscally Responsible Progress, and Participation in Town Government, all of which have been incorporated into the Board’s goals for Fiscal Year 2026.
No stranger to working in Hingham Town Government, Strehle previously served on the Hingham Advisory Committee from 2016 - 2022, chairing in 2022. She also was a member of the Community Preservation Committee for the three years prior to her election to the Select Board. She credits both experiences as having shown her how the Town works and qualifying her to serve on the Select Board.
Part of Strehle’s campaign focused on long-term financial and long-term capital planning so the town can manage the demands on the budget and infrastructure, while keeping tax rates as stable as possible. As such, she is a proponent of studying all town facilities and their needs, and creation of a10-year capital Plan g to develop municipal budgets that better serve the Town’s current and future needs. The Select Board has made facilities study and expansion of its existing capital plan out to 10-year capital plan a part of its FY 2026 goals.
As she learned to do on the Advisory Committee, Strehle intends to conduct her work on the Select Board by looking at issues from all sides. She believes that “steady leadership without an agenda” both helped get her elected and is what keeps municipalities functioning at a time of divisiveness at other levels of government.
Strehle grew up in Scituate, but she and her husband Andy have called Hingham home for 26 years. They raised two children here, who are both are graduates of Hingham Public Schools. Strehle is a graduate of Colgate University. She worked as a business systems analyst in the financial services industry. In addition to her Board and Commission work, she has held many volunteer positions in Town.
Photo: Hingham Select Board (L-R), Liz Klein, Julie Strehle, William Ramsey, Chair