by Laura Schwall
Hello All ~ The temperature is warming; flowers blooming; birds singing and the SNOW has melted ~ Happy Spring! March has certainly been crazy busy for the Town Clerk’s Office. During the month of March, we processed almost 6,000 census forms and processed almost 1,500 dog licenses, held a joint Rabies Clinic with the Town of Seekonk and processed our Annual Town Election vote-by-mail/absentee ballots along with certifying numerous birth/marriage/death records.
As you know, in March we also are preparing for the upcoming April 7th Annual Town Election, working on the Town Clerk’s portion of the 2025 Annual Report and completing the Town Clerk’s fiscal year 2027 budgets.
ANNUAL TOWN ELECTION
The Annual Town Election for the Town of Rehoboth will be held on Tuesday, April 7, 2026, with the polls open from 7 AM to 8 PM – Polling Location for all four precincts is Francis Farm Community Center (27 Francis Farm Road) – Heritage Meeting Hall, formerly known as the Museum building. If you would like to review the facility and layout of the polling location, please visit the Town Website at: https://www.rehobothma.gov/home/news/rehoboth-changes-its-centralized-polling-location-francis-farm-community-center-museum As always, the Town website will have updated polling information when available along with a sample ballot and election results on Tuesday night (April 7, 2026). Printed results will be in the May issue of the Rehoboth Reporter.
The following Positions to be elected on the ballot for 2026 are Moderator (one for 1 year), Board of Selectmen (two positions for 3 years), Assessor (one for 3 years), Constable (one for 3 years) School Committee (two for 3 years), Housing Authority (one for 5 years), Planning Board (one for 5 years), Park Commission (one for 5 years), and Water Commissioner (two for 3 years). We will have one contested race (3-year term D-R School Committee). Please see sample ballot and election details @
https://www.rehobothma.gov/home/news/upcoming-april-7-2026-annual-town-election-sample-ballot-vote-mail-deadline-final-voter or
https://www.rehobothma.gov/sites/g/files/vyhlif4911/f/uploads/4-7-2026-rehoboth_ate-sample_ballot-green.pdf
By the time you receive the April 2026 issue of the Reporter, the voter registration deadline and Vote-by-Mail application deadline have passed. If you would like to check your voting status, please check: https://www.sec.state.ma.us/VoterRegistrationSearch/MyVoterRegStatus.aspx If you are unable to make it to the polls on April 7, 2026, you can vote via Absentee Ballot by stopping by the Town Clerk’s Office, completing an Absentee Ballot Application and voting in-person until Noon on Monday, April 6th. PLEASE NOTE: All voters who requested Vote-by-Mail Ballots or Absentee Ballots, they have been mailed, please make sure you vote the ballot, sign the envelope, seal your ballot inside the brown envelope and return to our office. Ballots must be received by 8:00 PM in the Ballot Box at Town Hall – 340 Anawan Street (Route 118) to be counted. Thank you all for voting.
ELECTED AND APPOINTED TOWN OFFICIALS
A reminder to our elected and appointed town officials; please be aware that no action can be taken by you in your position until you have taken the Oath of Office. Also, should you ever have reason to resign from your position; your signed notice of resignation should be directed to the Town Clerk, as per MGL c41, s109. Thank you!
2026 DOG LICENSES ARE NOW PAST DUE
2026 Dog licenses were due by April 1, 2026. You may purchase your dog’s license through Rehoboth’s online permitting website at https://www.rehobothma.gov/ – click on Online Permitting under the Citizen Action Center and choose Dog Licenses “Renewal” to start the process. You can also use the direct link to renew your dog’s license @: https://permiteyes.us/rehoboth/publichome.php.
If you prefer, you may drop off your application and payment in the gray drop box at town hall (340 Anawan Street), or by mail (if paying by mail or drop off, checks should be made payable to the “Town of Rehoboth”). The licensing fees are as follows: Male or female dog $20.00; spayed or neutered dogs $10.00. 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, and we can provide your dog’s licensing information.
Please renew your dog licenses as soon as possible to avoid late fees ~ thank you. To date we registered 1,472 dogs (124 more than last year) of the 2,000+ dogs to be registered. Remember, in addition to being a legal requirement, registering your dog assures the prevention of rabies, and provides easy identification to return lost dogs to their owners because they are now in our database. Thank you to all 1,472 dog owners for renewing your dog’s licenses so promptly.
Also, another reminder to those residents 70 years of age or older . . . if over 70 years old, as per MGL 140§139(c) and town meeting vote, the Clerk’s Office will waive the $10/$20 license fee; however, you must still apply for the license and show the current year rabies certificate.
ANOTHER SUCCESSFUL REHOBOTH-SEEKONK RABIES CLINIC
THANK YOU ALL!
Thank You Seekonk and Rehoboth Animal Control Officers for arranging the event, Seekonk Fire Department for the use of your beautiful facility and the Seekonk Town Clerk Staff for including Rehoboth in your Annual Rabies Clinic. Thank you also, Dr. Trusdale and staff along with Brian McKearney & Charlotte Castro, Jenn Hose and the Seekonk Save-a-Pet volunteers who processed the rabies licenses. Due to the Saturday Rabies Clinic, Rehoboth was able to register 21 dogs and received $280 in licensing fees ~ thank you all. We look forward to participating in the Rehoboth-Seekonk Joint Rabies Clinic again next year mid-March 2027.
ANNUAL TOWN MEETING
Rehoboth voters are advised that the date for the Annual Town Meeting has been scheduled by the Board of Selectmen for Tuesday, June 2nd , beginning at 7:00 p.m. The meeting will be held at the Francis Farm Community Complex – Heritage Meeting Hall (formerly known as the Museum Building) – 27 Francis Farm Road. Town Meeting Warrants, after being approved and sent to the printer by the Board of Selectmen’s Office, should arrive in your mailbox, towards the end of May. Last day to register to vote, in order to participate in the Annual Town Meeting, will be Saturday, May 23, 2026 from 8:00AM-5:00PM in the Town Clerk’s Office, 340 Anawan Street. Prospective voters are reminded that they may also register to vote online at www.RegisterToVoteMA.com, or by calling the Town Clerk’s Office to request a Mail-In voter registration form, or download a form @ http://www.sec.state.ma.us/ele/elepdf/Voter-reg-mail-in.pdf
ANNUAL TOWN CENSUS FORMS ARE NOW PAST DUE
Our Annual Town Census Forms for 2026 were mailed to all 6,022 households in Rehoboth during the first week of January. As of March 30th, we have a total of 849 households that still need to return their forms: Precinct 1 = 224 households in Precinct 2 = 221 households, 188 households in Precinct 3 and 216 households in Precinct 4. If you haven’t returned your 2026 census form, please send it to the Town Clerk’s office as soon as possible. A friendly reminder, failure to return the completed census form may result in voters being placed on an inactive voting list and as per State requirements, after four years of inactivity you will be removed from the voting list.
I would personally like to thank the 5,173 households (unfortunately 268 fewer respondents than last year) that have already returned their census forms or responded to our Registrar’s phone calls. Our Registrars have completed their calls to the residents reminding them to return their census forms. Thank you, Registrars Christina LaFranchi, Helene Vitale and Jennifer Moitoso, along with Kerrie Perkins, Jennifer Hose, and Charlotte Castro for your exceptional work with the 2026 Census process. For those residents who did not like receiving phone calls from our Registrars, please note they are required to call all households who do not return their yearly census forms. We are required, by law, to send out yearly census forms the beginning of January and due completed and signed to our office by January 31st of each year. We do not ask our Rehoboth Board of Registrars to make their phone calls until the beginning of March. If you don’t want to receive a phone call, please return your January 1st census form to our office as soon as possible; definitely prior to the end of February so the State database can be updated. Thank you for your help and consideration. Final census reminder . . . if we do not receive the 849 household census forms by June 1st, our office is also required to “Inactivate” those voters who did not return their 2026 Census forms. If you lost your form, please complete – sign and send your form in now. Blank forms are available on the Town Website: https://www.rehobothma.gov/sites/g/files/vyhlif4911/f/pages/284126_rehoboth_2026_census-blank-fillable_pdf.pdf
CLERKS DAY ON THE HILL – Thursday, April 9, 2026
The Rehoboth Town Clerk and Assistant Town Clerks will be attending the Massachusetts Town Clerks Association “Clerks Day on the Hill” on Thursday, April 9, 2026 to meet with our legislators to discuss critical issues affecting election administration and to advocate for the MTCA’s legislative priorities and solutions as it relates to our current and future Election Laws. We look forward to meeting with Representative Howitt and Senator Dooner to discuss these very important issues. We will update you of our meeting in the May issue of the Rehoboth Reporter.
In closing, every April I am reminded of how fortunate I am to be your Town Clerk. I would like to thank the voters of Rehoboth for the opportunity to serve as your Town Clerk for thirteen wonderful years. I truly love my job and thank all the residents of Rehoboth for making each and every day so very special.
During the month of April, Kerrie, Jenn and I hope you have a wonderful and most enjoyable Easter, Passover, Patriot’s Day, Earth Day, and Arbor Day. I would personally like to thank the Rehoboth Town Events Committee for their wonderful Spring Easter Egg Hunt at Redway Plain, Sunday, March 29th. What a nice event - nicely done, everyone looked like they had a wonderful time and congratulations on the sizable turnout - thank you all for all you do for so many!
Thank you all for taking the time to read my monthly updates and thank you also, Rehoboth Reporter, for faithfully publishing my article every month. We wish you all a most enjoyable April. As another friendly reminder, taxes are due Friday, May 1st, annual Excise Taxes due April 2, 2026, yearly dog licenses were due April 1, 2026, and Annual Census forms were due January 31, 2026. I look forward to chatting with you again in May and hopefully seeing you at our upcoming Annual Town Election on Tuesday, April 7, 2026; results will be online @ www.RehobothMA.gov on 4-7-2026 and in the May issue of the Rehoboth Reporter. We hope you all enjoy the beautiful spring weather.
Thank you,
Laura
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