Hamilton Town Meeting Approves First Override Since 2008
Hamilton approves first tax override since 2008, backing $1.34 million for schools and town staff.
Town Meeting · Meeting of April 11, 2026
Hamilton approves first tax override since 2008, backing $1.34 million for schools and town staff. Town meeting voters passed the $1,340,505 Proposition 2 1/2 override 385-74, contingent on a townwide ballot vote Thursday, after Superintendent Eric Tracy warned the Hamilton-Wenham Regional School District would otherwise cut about 26.6 positions. The levy-limit budget of $42,592,452 passed 402-55.
Finance Committee Chair John McGrath called the combined 5.6 percent year-over-year increase the town's largest ask since the 2008 override. Voters also approved $174,235 for the Hamilton Development Corporation over resident objections, backed a roughly $7.3 million high school roof project, approved selling 3.23 acres of the Patton Homestead to the nonprofit Patton Foundation, and narrowly rejected, 79-86, a specialized energy building code.
In the full story:
- The complete report — 1,183 words
Source: the Town Meeting meeting of April 11, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.
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