From the Rehoboth Town Clerk

Posted Monday, May 10, 2021 10:39 am

by Laura Schwall

Hello All ~ Happy May! – The Spring flowers are here, birds are back, and the leaves have popped ~ yippee! If it is May, it must be Tax Day . . . as a reminder, quarterly taxes were due Monday, May 3^rd.

ANNUAL TOWN ELECTION DETAILS
Thank you ~ thank you ~ thank you Rehoboth for allowing me to serve the Town of Rehoboth for another three years. I thank you for your vote! You all know I absolutely love my job and look forward to continuing to make Town Government more accessible to the voters and residents in the years to come. I would like to thank the 1,788 of the 9,804 registered voters for coming out to vote at our April 6, 2021 Annual Town Election. We had 18% voter participation this year, which is up from 15% participation last year (2020) and 8% voter participation in 2019. Congratulations to Bill Cute-Moderator; Mike Deignan and George Solas-Selectman; Susan Taylor-Assessor; Katie Ferreira-Aubin and Victoria Silvia-School Committee; Paul Jacques for Housing Authority; Patrick Landry-Planning Board; Sandra Parris-Parks Commission; Dave Perry-Stormwater Officer, Rob Johnson-Tree Warden, and Tom Nicholson for Water Commission. If you are interested in the final official results, they can be found on the town website @ https://www.rehobothma.gov/sites/g/files/vyhlif4911/f/uploads/tally-ate-4-6-2021-official-final.pdf

For the April 6, 2021 Annual Town Election, we were required to change our Polling Locations in Rehoboth for a third time within a year due to the COVID-19 Pandemic and the catastrophic loss of the Senior Center/Precinct 2 last September. As a result, our new polling location was D.L. Beckwith Middle School. The comments regarding voting at the Middle School were very positive and I would like to thank the DRRSD Administration, School Committee, Beckwith Middle School Administration, Staff, Students and Custodians for your help in running a safe and secure election! Thank you also, Mike Costello and the Highway staff for paving the exit walkway of the polling location for the safety of our voters. Speaking of thank you . . .

THANK YOU!!! ~ ELECTION WORKERS, REGISTRARS, POLICE, FIRE, HIGHWAY, CONSTABLES, ELECTION EQUIPMENT STAFF, M&S CLEANERS & TOWN CLERK’S OFFICE STAFF
I would personally like to thank the many people who participated in our April 6, 2021 Annual Town election and for helping us make sure the election ran smoothly. From the Wardens, Clerks, Inspectors, Constables, Police, Fire, Highway Department, Registrars, Set-Up Crew and Town Clerk staff, we were able to hold our fourth Election during a pandemic without a case of COVID-19 being traced back to the Town Election. 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! Thank you also Sara and Billy for the delicious Vinos meals and thank you Aaron (M&S Cleaners) for sanitizing the Middle School after we left the building. On a Personal Note: I would like to thank the Election Workers and Sheila Bouchard for the beautiful flowers and lovely card they presented at the end of the Election night. The flowers were gorgeous for almost two-weeks and I will treasure the well wishes on your card forever. Thank you all for your support, time, dedication, and true passion of assuring our elections are run safely, professionally, securely, and expeditiously. The Town of Rehoboth is truly fortunate to have the entire Election staff working on their behalf. Thank you all for your generosity and kind words ~ Laura.

ANNUAL TOWN MEETING
Now is the time to have your voice heard. Rehoboth voters have been notified, through delivery of the Special/Annual Town Warrant to their home on Saturday, May 1, 2021 that the date for upcoming Town Meeting will be Tuesday, May 11, 2021 at the Ramada Inn Ballroom (Formerly the Johnson and Wales, Inn) 213 Taunton Avenue (Route 44), Seekonk, MA 02771 beginning at 7:00 pm. Per the Board of Health in Seekonk, face coverings are mandatory at the Ramada Inn. These procedures are also mandated by Governor Baker. Thank you for your cooperation.

The last day for Voter Registration, to be eligible to participate in the Special/Annual Town Meeting, was Friday, April 30, 2021. The Town Clerk’s Office was open from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. on April 30^th 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 any time, 24/7, by going to www.RegisterToVoteMA.com and complete the voter registration form online. However, if you were not registered by Friday, April 30, 2021, you will not be able to vote in the May 11, 2021 Town Meeting. 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 Rehoboth Annual Town Census reflects our current population total, which as of April 10, 2021 is “officially” 12,977. That is an increase of 55 residents over last year’s “official” population figure of 12,922. After calls to households from our Registrars, we still have 571 census forms, out of 5,406 forms that were mailed in January, which have not been returned (Precinct I = 167 non respondents; Precinct II = 185 non respondents, and Precinct III = 219 non respondents). Thank you to the 4,835 residents (89.44%) who have returned their 2021 Town Census forms. For the remaining 10.56% or 571 residents, please send in your census/street listing forms as soon as possible ~ thank you. I anticipate the Street Listings being available mid-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. I would like to thank Assistant Town Clerk, Lynn Shaker, Administrative Aide, Odete Lacourse and the Registrars Helene Vitale, Jenn Moitozo, and Kathy Conti for your help with processing the almost 5,000 census forms. We all had another busy and successful Census season ~ thank you!

2021 DOG LICENSES
Dog licenses are due and payable on April 1^st of each year. Thank you to the 1,400+ dog owners who have already renewed their dog’s 2021 license. Any dog license not paid by May 31^st will be assessed a $15.00 per dog late fee in addition to the license fee(s). Yearly we offer 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 1^st. The Town has incurred the expense of sending out over seven hundred reminder postcards to those dog owners who have not paid their dog’s 2021 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 855 dogs that are unlicensed; we hope to hear from their owners soon. Please renew your dog’s license as soon as possible and definitely before May 31^st 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, X3112 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, Odete 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 rain free and absolutely perfect. Most importantly, on Memorial Day, please remember to honor all those who made the ultimate sacrifice to secure our country and protect its citizens. Finally, thank you again for your continued support and the opportunity to serve another three years as Rehoboth’s Town Clerk. Please have a happy and safe month of MAY!

~ Laura ~