Town of Abington

Everyone Can Take Climate Action! No matter where you live, how you get around, where you work, or your budget, we can all help protect our communities, save energy, and save money. Learn how you can take action with Massachusetts' new climate action program! https://www.mass.gov/info-details/everyone-can-take-climate-action

The Park & Recreation Dept is now hiring for seasonal lifeguards and Eager Beaver Program counselors. Applicants must be at least 15 years old for lifeguard positions and 16 years old for counselor positions. Applications can be found on the abingtonrec.com website.

The Abington Municipal Vulnerability Preparedness 2.0 Core Team held their first training session previewing the MVP 2.0 process and discussing local Abington climate vulnerability with its consultant. The team encourages you to check out the following links in relation to Abington to better understand the town's climate vulnerabilities and resilience. Climate Change Projections Dashboard: MA Hydro Risk_Climate Dashboard (arcgis.com) GEAR Tool: Home Page - GEAR (mass.gov)

The Planning Board will be holding a continued public hearing at Town Hall on March 18 at 6PM at Abington Town Hall. This is a continuation of the March 6 hearing. The Board will be discussing amendments to Abington's Zoning Bylaw Chapter 175. These amendments include the new MBTA Communities overlay district, adding the watershed protection district language, other language proposed by Town Counsel, etc. Residents are encouraged to attend.

Calendar 2023 Excise bills went out on March 12th! Check out our PDF ( https://5il.co/2gjzu ) for all sorts of information about Excise Taxes!

Hi! This is a friendly reminder that Fiscal Year 2024 Real Estate Exemption forms are due back in the Assessing Department by April 1st! If you’re over 70 (within income/asset limitations), a Disabled Veteran, or Blind you can check out the Assessors' Page for a brochure ( https://5il.co/2ch9g ) on eligibility.

Registration for summer recreation programs will open Tuesday, March 26th for Abington residents and Tuesday, April 2nd for non-residents. To register visit: www.abingtonrec.com

Abington's Annual St. Patrick's Day Parade will be held on Sunday, March 17th at 1PM. 🍀Starting at 11AM try to avoid the area from 7/11 to St. Patrick's Square (Abington Center where Santander Bank and Bailey's Garage are located) and the surrounding side streets. They are used for staging the parade. 🍀Around 12:15PM Washington Street (starting at Bedford Street Route 18) will close. As the parade starts and continues north on Washington the surrounding roads will be restricted. 🍀Stay clear of railroad tracks. 🍀Be mindful of the parade vehicles and give them plenty of space. 🍀Abide by no parking signs. 🍀Enjoy this Abington tradition Thank you to the St. Patrick's Day Parade committee and all of its volunteers for their hard work and dedication.

Presidential Primary voting will be held tomorrow, Tuesday, March 5, 2024 at Beaver Brook Elementary School for all precincts. Polls are open from 8AM - 8PM. *Please note a previous version incorrectly listed Abington polls' opening time.

Excise Tax bills will be mailed March 12.

The Planning Board will be holding a public hearing at Town Hall on March 6 at 6PM regarding the amendments to Abington's Zoning Bylaw Chapter 175. These amendments include the new MBTA Communities overlay district. Residents are encouraged to attend! Town Moderator Shawn Reilly hosted an informative discussion with Abington Town Planner Liz Shea, Judi Barrett from Barrett Planning Group LLC and Planning Board member Rick Collins to discuss the MBTA Communities zoning changes that will be voted on at Town Meeting this spring. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rekhPIH6zTk

There is still an opportunity to early vote for the Presidential Primary at the Town Clerk's office. Any registered voter in Abington can vote in-person at the Town Clerk's office at Town Hall during early voting. Early voting is: February 24 - March 1st Monday - Thursday from 8:30AM - 4:30PM Friday 8:30AM - 12:30PM Saturday, February 24 from 9AM - 3PM Town Office Building, 500 Gliniewicz Way, Abington, MA 02351

Abington's Planning Department and the Planning Board are hard at work to ensure Abington is compliant with the MBTA Communities requirements. Learn more about MBTA Communities and Abington's work to create an overlay zoning district which allows multi-family housing by right. https://youtu.be/rekhPIH6zTk

ARJWW currently has two water main breaks in Abington. Sections of the following areas are affected: Bedford Street, West Chapel Street, Belmont Street, Bank Street, and Orange Street. The crews are working to fix the water main breaks and will have the water on as soon as possible. The water station at at the Abington Rockland Joint Water Works located at 366 Centre Ave, Rockland is open to fill containers. Please call the main office if you have any questions: 781-878-0901.

Early voting for the Presidential Primary is currently available! Any registered voter in Abington can vote in-person at the Town Clerk's office at Town Hall during early voting. Early voting is: February 24 - March 1st Monday - Thursday from 8:30AM - 4:30PM Friday 8:30AM - 12:30PM Saturday, February 24 from 9AM - 3PM Town Office Building, 500 Gliniewicz Way, Abington, MA 02351

The work continues! Today, engineers were again surveying the Memorial Bridge at Island Grove. The engineers were in a boat surveying underneath the Bridge. Once surveying is complete they will dig into the Bridge design. An accurate survey is especially important because the original survey referenced in the deed was a 'sketch'. This new survey creates an important understanding of Memorial Bridge and the surrounding wetlands. The design process for Memorial Bridge's redesign and reconstruction is being jointly funded by the Massachusetts Historical Commission and Community Preservation Funds.

Early voting for the Presidential Primaries will be open February 24 - March 1 at the Town Clerk's office at Town Hall. Any Abington registered voter can participate in early voting. Early voting is open the following days and hours: Monday - Thursday from 8:30AM - 4:30PM Friday 8:30AM - 12:30PM Saturday, February 24 from 9AM - 3PM Town Office Building, 500 Gliniewicz Way, Abington, MA 02351

Abington FinCom is hard at work to crafting the FY25 budget. Abington relies heavily on State aid to fund the Town’s budget. The State is currently collecting less taxes than previously estimated which is creating many unknowns for funding in FY25. Keeping this in mind FinComm has the following goals for next year's budget: •Maintain department services at the same level •Create a balanced budget •Provide some capital items (bigger one-time purchases like roof repairs, police cruisers or DPW trucks, etc) with funds left from the FY24 budget. •Allocate some funds to the stabilization fund Learn more about the Finance Committee in their committee spotlight. https://www.abingtonma.gov/site-home/news/finance-committee-spotlight

Department Spotlight: Finance Committee The Finance Committee, a group made up of all volunteers, is meeting often and working hard to prepare a balanced budget to present at Town Meeting. The Finance Committee, or FinComm, is responsible for reviewing the finances of the Town, from income to spending, and making sure that the Town is using the residents' money wisely and effectively. The largest responsibilities are reviewing and helping prepare and balance the yearly budget and providing recommendations to the people of the Town on the warrant articles presented at every Town Meeting. Read more about FinComm and their short and long term goals. https://www.abingtonma.gov/site-home/news/finance-committee-spotlight

Our Town Clerk's office is in full swing to prepare for the Presidential Primary election which will take place on March 5 at the Beaver Brook School. Mail-in voting applications are processed through a rigorous, detailed system to ensure accuracy. Thousands of requested ballots are being mailed. When they are returned by voters, ballots will be sorted and stored in a locked safe. Early voting is also an option in the 2024 Presidential Primaries. Any registered voter in Abington can vote in-person at the Town Clerk's office at Town Hall during early voting. Early voting is: February 24 - March 1st Monday - Thursday from 8:30AM - 4:30PM Friday 8:30AM - 12:30PM Saturday, February 24 from 9AM - 3PM