From the Town Clerk

Hello All ~ Happy May! – The Spring flowers are here, birds are back, and the leaves have popped! The snow is gone and warm weather has returned ~ yippee! If it is May, it must be tax day . . . as a reminder; quarterly taxes were due Monday, May 1st.

ANNUAL TOWN ELECTION DETAILS
I would again like to thank the 2,555 voters for coming out to vote at our April 3, 2017 Annual Town Election. We had thirty percent voter participation, which is a huge turnout for our annual town elections as we usually range between five to eight percent. I have to let you know, while we were excited with the voter turnout, this past election was also an extremely frustrating election for the Town Clerk’s Office and Election Workers. A lot of voters were confused with the wording of the Municipal Complex Ballot Question, which by the way, is the same exact wording as past Debt Exclusion questions. The wording on the ballot is mandated by the Department of Revenue and Bond Counsel. There is no flexibility in the language provided to us from Bond Counsel. The Town must use the specific language provided when we print the Town Meeting Warrant, read the Motion at Town Meeting, and when we print the Ballot. We are not permitted to stray from the State mandated language with the exception of including a description of the project. Please see two examples below (Rehoboth and Seekonk April 3, 2017 Ballot Questions):
Seekonk’s Ballot Question
“Shall the Town of Seekonk be allowed to exempt from the provisions of proposition two and one half, so called, the amounts required to pay for the bonds to be issued “in order to design, renovate, construct and furnish the Seekonk Animal Shelter. Including any incidental or related costs related thereto.”

vs. Rehoboth’s Ballot Question
“Shall the Town of Rehoboth be allowed to exempt from the provisions of proposition two and one-half, so-called, the amounts required to pay for the bond issued in order to pay costs of constructing, originally equipping and furnishing a Municipal Government Complex Facility, which is proposed to house the Town Offices, Police Department, Fire Department, REMA and Ambulance, on Town owned land at the current site of the Public Safety Facility (334 Anawan Street), including all costs incidental and related thereto.”

Further, the Town Clerk’s office, nor the election workers were allowed to answer any voter’s questions regarding the ballot question. The State views answering the voter’s question as possibly influencing the vote and therefore, not permitted. I even asked the State if I could print out the definition of a “Debt Exclusion” and an “Override” from Massachusetts General Law in order to help the voters understand the difference and place it at the ballot sample table for voters to read. Unfortunately I was again denied due to the possibility of influencing the ballot vote. I had hoped that by placing the actual ballot question in the March issue of the Rehoboth Reporter, if voters were confused with the wording or had any questions regarding either ballot question they could have asked their questions prior to Election Day; unfortunately no questions were voiced.

THANK YOU!!! ~ LOUISE ~ ELECTION WORKERS, REGISTRARS, FIRE, HIGHWAY, CONSTABLES, ELECTION EQUIPMENT STAFF & ASSISTANT TOWN CLERK
I would personally like to thank the many people who participated in our April 3, 2017 Annual Town election and for helping me make sure the election ran smoothly. From the Wardens, Clerks, Inspectors, Constables, Veterans, Station 3 Fire Personnel, Highway Department, Registrars, COA and Assistant Town Clerk . . . thank you for all your hard work. There is no way we could have an election without the wonderful help of you all ~ thank you for all you do for so many! A huge thank you goes out to LOUISE for the amazing chocolate chip cookies she made for the town hall employees and delivered the day after the election. Louise did not share her last name but we all would like to thank her for the absolutely delicious chocolate chip cookies she baked and hand delivered. They were enjoyed by all and we thank you for your kind words Louise! Your act of kindness truly made our day – thank you!

ANNUAL TOWN MEETING
Now is the time to have your voice heard. Rehoboth voters have been notified, through delivery of the Special and Annual Town Warrant to their home on Saturday, April 22nd, that the date for Annual/Special Town Meeting has been scheduled by the Board of Selectmen and will be held at the Dighton Rehoboth Regional High School beginning on Monday, May 8, 2017 at 7:00 pm. The Special Town Meeting will begin at 7:00 p.m. and the Annual Town Meeting will follow immediately at 7:30 p.m. I urge all voters to come out to the Special and Annual Town Meeting and let your voice be heard. It is up to you to vote how your town government runs and how your money is spent.

The last day for Voter Registration, to be eligible to participate in the Special and Annual Town Meeting, was Friday, April 28, 2017. The Town Clerk’s Office was open from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. on April 28 to accommodate last minute registrations. As always, if you would like to register to vote, or change your party affiliation, you may go to the Secretary of State’s Election Division @ www.RegisterToVoteMA.com and complete the voter registration form online. However, if you are not registered by Friday, April 28, 2017, you will not be able to vote in the May 8, 2017 election. If you would like to check your voter status (active or inactive), you may also go to: https://www.sec.state.ma.us/VoterRegistrationSearch/MyVoterRegStatus.aspx and see if your registration is active and what precinct you vote in.

ANNUAL TOWN CENSUS
The Annual Town Census reflects our current population total, which as of April 26, 2017 is “unofficially” 12,543. That is up 324 from last year’s “official” population figure of 12,219. The current 2017 Census population total is not an official total as we are still waiting for 641 residences to return their census forms. Even after calls to households from our Registrars, we still have still have outstanding: 342 census forms that have not been returned for Precinct I, 232 non respondents for Precinct II, and 67 non respondents for Precinct III. Please send in your census/street listing forms as soon as possible ~ thank you. Due to the delayed resident responses, I anticipate the Street Listings being available late May for those of you who like to purchase them for $15. Please call our office before heading up to town hall to see if the Street Listings have arrived so you don’t waste a trip.

2017 DOG LICENSES
Dog licenses were due and payable on April 1st. Thank you all 1,449 dog owners who have already renewed your dog’s 2017 license. Any dog license not paid by May 31st will be assessed a $15.00 per dog late fee in addition to the license fee(s). We have offered dog owners a 60-day grace period to pay their dog’s licenses without charging a late fee; however, we must now impose those fees effective June 1st. The Town has incurred the expense of sending out over five hundred reminder postcards to those dog owners who have not paid their dog’s 2017 license in the hopes we would avoid having to impose late fees. You may renew your dog license online, by mail, or in person. Currently we have 498 dogs that are unlicensed; we hope to hear from you soon. Please, please renew your dog’s license as soon as possible and definitely before May 31st to avoid the late fees. Thanks so much!

Anyone having questions regarding any of the above information may call the Town Clerk’s Office at 508-252-6502, X3109 or X3110 or e-mail me at LSchwall@town.rehoboth.ma.us . In closing, I would like to wish a Happy Birthday to Assistant Town Clerk ~ Lynn Shaker, who celebrates her birthday in May. In addition, Lynn and I wish a Happy Mother’s Day to all the moms in Rehoboth. We also wish everyone a healthy and safe Memorial Day. Hopefully by Memorial Day the weather will be absolutely perfect as Rehoboth is hosting this year’s Memorial Day Parade. Thank you again for your continued support and the opportunity to serve another year as Rehoboth’s Town Clerk. Please have a happy and safe month of MAY!

~ Laura & Lynn ~