March 28, 2024

From the Town Clerk

Posted

Hello All ~ Wow, time sure flies when you’re having fun!!! The clerk’s office has been busy processing 2018 census data, dog tag licenses, election nominations, budgets, annual report submissions, and preparing for the upcoming annual town elections. It sure made the time pass quickly! To those of you submitting your census documents and for registering your dogs so promptly ~ thank you. If you have not sent in your census, please forward as soon as possible. Census forms were due January 31st and Dog Licenses are due April 1st.

Upcoming 5th Annual Rehoboth-Seekonk Rabies Clinic
Speaking of dog licenses, Rob Johnson, our Animal Control Officer, Lynn Shaker, and I are thrilled to be a part of the 5th Annual combined Rehoboth-Seekonk Rabies Clinic on Saturday, March 10th from 9 a.m. to Noon at the Seekonk Highway Department – Route 44 & Lake Street. Both Seekonk and Rehoboth Town Clerks will be there along with Animal Control Officers from both towns and Veterinarian, Dr. Truesdale. Rabies shots cost $12 and residents also have the opportunity to renew their dog’s 2018 Dog License at the same time. We will even have dog treats available for our four legged friends. The clinic is open to all animal owners. Cats must be in carriers, dogs on leashes. Massachusetts animal owners must bring either a certificate for a rabies vaccination dated between March and June of last year or a previous Massachusetts three-year rabies certificate from a veterinarian. Our yearly rabies clinics have been a huge success the past four years, and we look forward to holding many more in the years to come. We hope to see you on March 10th.

Dog Licenses For 2018
The 2018 Dog Licenses are now available and are due annually by April 1, 2018. Residents may either purchase their dog’s 2018 Dog License by mail, online at: https://www.invoicecloud.com/rehobothgovsvcs, or in person at the Town Clerk’s Office. The office hours are Monday through Thursday from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. and on Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. The licensing fees are as follows: Male or female dog $20.00; female-spayed or male-neutered $10.00. If paying by check, please make sure it is made payable to “Town of Rehoboth”. Whether renewing online, via mail, or in person, dog license applications must be accompanied by a current year rabies certificate (with a vaccination date covering the current licensing year) and proof of spay or neuter [if applying for the $10 licensing fee] unless we already have your documentation on file in the Clerk’s Office. If you are unsure, please give our office a call (508-252-6502 x-3110-Laura or x-3109-Lynn), and we can tell you how up-to-date our information is. Dog owners should note that the license(s) will not be returned unless a stamped, self-addressed envelope is included with current postage (71¢ for one dog tag, 93¢ for two dog tags and $1.15 for three dog tags). If no postage is enclosed, we will hold the dog licenses for you at town hall. You may pick them up at your convenience. To date we have already registered 583 dogs this year. Thank you all for renewing your licenses so promptly; we still have 1,500+ registrations to be renewed. We hope to hear from you soon.

Annual Town Election
The Town of Rehoboth Annual Town Election will be held on Monday, April 2, 2018 with the polls in all three precincts open from 7am to 8pm. As with all elections, the election warrant will be posted, with the polling hours, at the normal three posting locations in each of the three precincts. Election warrant press releases are also sent to the local newspapers, Rehobothnow.com and the Rehoboth Reporter to post. In addition, the polling hours for the Annual Town Election will be noted on the front page of the Town Website (www.town.rehoboth.ma.us).

The Democratic Town Committee held their Caucus on Saturday, February 10th at Goff Hall with the following Democratic Caucus Nominees being placed on the Annual Town Election Ballot: Moderator for one year term – incumbent William J. Cute, Jr.; Water Commission Three-Year term – incumbent Thomas Nicholson. Both candidates will be listed as Democratic Caucus Nominees on the April 2nd ballot.

The Republican Town Committee held their Caucus on Tuesday, February 13th at the COA (Senior Center) with the following Republican Caucus Nominees to be placed on the Annual Town Election Ballot: Selectman for three year term – incumbent Gerald V. Schwall and nominee Michael R. Costello; Town Clerk for three year term – incumbent Laura L. Schwall; Assessor for three year term – incumbent Susan W. Taylor ; D-R Regional District School Committee for three year term – Michael P. Deignan and George M. Solas; Planning Board for a five-year term – Patricia A. Vadnais; Park Commission for a five year term – Kenneth E. Abrams, Park Commission for a three year term – incumbent George Cardono; Storm Water Officer for a three year term – incumbent David A. Perry, Jr., and Tree Warden for a three year term – incumbent Robert E. Johnson, II. These candidates will be listed on the April 2nd ballot as Republican Caucus Nominees. In the addition to the above, the Republican Town Committee also endorsed John David “Jake” Kramer for the four-year Planning Board position.

This year there were six nomination papers that were certified for “Independent/Unenrolled” or “Non-Designated” candidates. Craig R. Chapman, Jonathan J. Clark and Antonio A. Oliveira for the three-year Selectman term, Tomas´ E. Ennis – incumbent for a 5-year term on Planning Board, incumbent Kathleen F. Cooper for the three-year D-R Regional School Committee term and David A. Katseff, incumbent for the 3-year term for D-R Regional School Committee. Therefore, the two contested races in the April 2nd election will be Selectmen – two positions available with five candidates running and two School Committee positions available with four candidates running.

In addition to the contested races, we will also have a ballot question for the Dighton-Rehoboth Regional High School Roof. The questions will read:

BALLOT QUESTION #1:
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 its assessments by the District to pay the principal of and interest on the bond issued by the Dighton-Rehoboth Regional School District in order to pay the costs of roof replacement and /or repair at the Dighton-Rehoboth Regional High School, including the payment of all costs incidental or related thereto?
____ Yes ____ No

If you do not understand the statement above, please ask your questions before Election Day. Ask a School Committee member, Selectman, Clerk’s Office, etc. prior to the election. As many of the voters found out, at the last town election, the State will not allow us or the Election Workers explain what the question means or what a yes or no vote means on the day of the election. Please learn the facts before you vote ~ thank you!

Upcoming Voter Registration Session
The final date to register to vote in the Annual Town Election is Tuesday, March 13. Prospective voters are reminded that they may register to vote online by going to www.RegisterToVoteMA.com or by visiting the Town Clerk’s Office, picking up a voter registration form at the Rehoboth Post Office, by calling the Town Clerk’s Office to request a Mail-In voter registration form, use the yellow census voter registration/party designation change form, or download a form online @ http://www.sec.state.ma.us/ele/elepdf/Voter-reg-mail-in.pdf. As an added convenience, the Town Clerk’s office will be open until 8:00 PM on March 13th to accommodate last minute registrations.

Absentee Ballot Applications
Applications for absentee ballots are now available and may be obtained from the Town Clerk’s Office, at the post office, or online @ http://www.sec.state.ma.us/ele/elepdf/absentee_ballot.pdf An absentee ballot may only be obtained by written request and with the voter’s original signature. The deadline to apply for an absentee ballot for the Annual Town Election is Friday, March 30th at 5:00 p.m. Even though town offices are closed on Friday, March 30th, the Clerk’s office will be open until 5:00 p.m. on Friday, March 30th to receive absentee ballot applications for the April 2, 2018 election.

ANNUAL TOWN CENSUS FORMS ARE NOW PAST DUE
The Annual Town Census Forms for year 2018 were mailed to all households in Rehoboth during the first week of January. If you haven’t received your census form, please contact the Town Clerk’s Office. You will notice that this year’s census form also contains information regarding your political party affiliation and voter registration. If there is nothing listed in the last column to the right of your name on the census form, it means you are not registered to vote. If you wish to vote in the upcoming April 2nd election, please either register online at www.RegisterToVoteMA.com or visit us at the clerk’s office by Tuesday, March 13, 2018. In addition, next to your party affiliation, you will notice an ( I ) or (A). Those initials signify that the voter is A-Active or I-Inactive. If you are listed as an inactive voter and you want to vote in the upcoming Annual Town Election, please contact our office immediately to resolve the matter. Residents are asked to review the pre-printed census forms, make corrections, and return your 2018 census forms as soon as possible. Party changes and registrations must be done through the Town Clerk’s Office with your original signature in order to process a change of designation or to register to vote.

As of February 26th, we still have 575 households in Precinct 1; 566 households in Precinct 2 and 584 households in Precinct 3 that have not yet responded to the annual town census. Please return your census form immediately, if you have not already done so ~ thank you.

Mail
It is requested that when you send correspondence to any office at the Town Hall you only include information specific to the department you want to communicate with. As an example, residents might send in their tax payment along with their census form or dog license. Tax payments would go to the Tax Collector whereas census forms or dog licenses would go to the Town Clerk’s Office. By including multiple offices in one envelop it may delay processing your requests or payments. Thank you for your consideration.

Business Certificates
Business owners whose business certificate will expire between January through June of 2018 should have received a reminder for renewal. The renewal fee is $50.00 (certificate renewal is good for four years) and checks should be made payable to “The Town of Rehoboth”. You may also renew using a credit/debit card either online (web address below) or at the Town Clerk’s window. Before a new business can be registered within the town, business owners must first contact the Zoning Officer – Bill McDonough at 320 Anawan Street in order to have the location and/or type of business approved. Business license forms and complete process details can be found on the clerk’s website @
http://www.town.rehoboth.ma.us/town-clerk/pages/business-certificates

Remembering Mildred “Millie” J. Hatten
I am sad to say we lost a very dear lady on December 30, 2017 at the age of 90 years old. Millie was dedicated to the Town of Rehoboth serving almost 21 years as Rehoboth’s Town Accountant from 1974-1995, another 21 years as a Precinct 3 election worker 1995-2016, Computer Committee 1984-1994 and Finance Committee from 1999-2003. I truly enjoyed working with Millie ~ she was a lovely lady and will be truly missed. I know Millie is happy to be reunited with her husband Peter whom she missed dearly.

Finally, if you have any questions on any of the above items please feel free to contact the Town Clerk’s Office at 508-252-6502, X3109 or X3110. Lynn and I wish all residents a Happy St. Patrick’s Day, Passover and Easter. We hope to see many of you at the upcoming March 10th Rabies Clinic – details above. Please keep warm and safe ~ spring is coming soon ;-) I look forward to speaking with you in April. Please remember to vote on April 2nd 7:00 a.m. – 8:00 p.m. – all three precincts will be open. Thank you!

Laura & Lynn

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