Hanson Select Board backs $3 million override, files MBTA zoning lawsuit

HANSON -- March 11, 2025, Hanson Select Board unanimously authorized an MBTA zoning lawsuit and backed a $3 million override recommendation heading into a May 5 town meeting. Finance Committee member Kevin Sullivan presented a budget analysis projecting a roughly $3 million FY26 operating deficit against a total budget of approximately $39,186,000, driven in part by a 10 percent assessment increase from the Whitman-Hanson Regional School District; the committee's consensus recommendation is a Proposition 2½ override that would add approximately $750 per year to a home assessed at $515,000. Sullivan, who said the town has roughly $2.4 million in certified free cash remaining, warned the panel that free-cash reliance "can get away from you very quickly and become a crutch," noting a 135 percent jump in free-cash use from FY24 to FY25. The board also ratified a vote taken in executive session to file suit in Plymouth Superior Court against the Commonwealth, seeking relief from the MBTA zoning law's 750-unit minimum multifamily requirement and the release of frozen state grants. A resident override survey developed with Bridgewater State University graduate students was approved with minor amendments and linked to a new public information site at www.hansenbudget.com.