March 29, 2024

From the Rehoboth Town Clerk

Posted

Hello All ~ Happy May! – The Spring flowers are here, birds are back, and the leaves have popped ~ thank goodness!  I did not think Spring would ever arrive this year. If it is May, it must be Tax Day . . . as a reminder, quarterly taxes were due Monday, May 2nd

ANNUAL TOWN ELECTION DETAILS
I would like to thank the 897 of the 9,872 registered voters for coming out to vote at our April 5, 2022 Annual Town Election.  We had 9.09% voter participation this year, which is down from 18% participation last year (2021) and 15% voter participation in 2020.  Congratulations to Bill Cute-Moderator; Skip Vadnais-Selectman; Steve Green-Assessor; Jeff Reber-School Committee; Joe Collins- Housing Authority; Jake Kramer, Stacy Haskell and Lenny Mills, Jr.-Planning Board; Lissa Solas-Parks Commission; Ken Abrams, Bill Dalpe and Mike Deignan-Constables, and Joe Nunes and Art Gareau- Water Commission. If you are interested in the final official results, they can be found on the town website on the Town Clerk’s Website – Elections & Voting Links – Election Results or a direct link @

https://www.rehobothma.gov/sites/g/files/vyhlif4911/f/uploads/4-5-2022-annual_town_election_official_certified_results-signed.pdf 

Thank you also, Mike Viveiros and the Highway staff for helping clean up the walkway around the museum and pavilion area of the polling location for the safety of our voters and for replacing all the lights in the Museum.  Speaking of the lights, thank you Mike Berwick for changing all the outdoor lights to LED for better visibility for our voters along with thank you to Jim Sine for checking the oven in the COA to make sure it was ready to use for the election worker meals.  Finally, a huge thank you all . . .

THANK YOU!!!  ~ ELECTION WORKERS, REGISTRARS, POLICE, FIRE, HIGHWAY,  CONSTABLES, ELECTION EQUIPMENT STAFF, M&S CLEANERS, POTTY-JOHN &  TOWN CLERK’S OFFICE STAFF
I would personally like to thank the many people who participated in our April 5, 2022 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/Take-Down Crew and Town Clerk staff, we were able to hold another successful location in our new centralized polling location; the Francis Farm Museum.  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 to Sara and Billy for the delicious Vinos meals.  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. 

MAY 14 & 15 (Saturday & Sunday) ANNUAL TOWN MEETING
Now is the time to have your voice heard.  Rehoboth voters have been notified, through delivery of the Annual Town Meeting Warrant to their home, that the date for upcoming Town Meeting will be Saturday and Sunday, May 14 &15, 2022 at the Francis Farm Community Complex – Museum Building – 27 Francis Farm Road, Rehoboth; both sessions beginning at 1:00 PM.  There are a total of 37 Warrant Articles, therefore anticipate the need to have a 2-day Town Meeting.  We will be introducing a new way of vote tallying at this year’s Town Meeting, which will hopefully speed up the tally process and as a result, speed along town meeting.  Depending on the length of discussion, if all goes well, maybe we can complete our Town Business in one day.  Thank you for spending your weekend with us.

The last day for Voter Registration, to be eligible to participate in the Annual Town Meeting, was Friday, April 22, 2022. The Town Clerk’s Office was open from 8:00AM to 8:00PM. on April 22nd 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 22, 2022, you will not be able to vote in the May 14 & 15, 2022 Annual 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. 

UPCOMING JUNE 11, 2022 – SPECIAL TOWN ELECTION
As you know, the Board of Selectmen voted to schedule a Special Election to fill two Selectmen vacated positions and one Stormwater Officer position on Saturday, June 11, 2022 from 8:00AM – 6:00PM to be held at the Francis Farm Community Complex – Museum Building, 27 Francis Farm Road.  At the time of this writing, the Democratic and Republican Town Committee Caucuses have not been held; therefore, no results can be shared as to the candidates that were nominated at their May 3rd Caucuses.  However, I can share the candidates that have pulled their own nomination papers for Selectman or Stormwater Officer, have returned their papers, had the required number of signatures certified, and will be listed as candidates on the June 11, 2022 Special Town Election Ballot.  They are:

SELECTMAN (2-Positions)

STORMWATER OFFICER (1-Position)

Craig R. Chapman

 

Kevin J. Foley

Joseph Albert Nunes

Robert E. Johnson II

 

Leonard Mills, Jr.

 

Rehoboth Democratic & Republican Town Committee Caucus Candidates to be Determined 5-3-2022 @ Caucus

Final Voter Registration for the June 11, 2022 Special Town Election is Friday, May 20, 2022 from 8:00AM – 8:00PM. Additionally, if you are unable to make it to the Saturday, June 11, 2022 Election, Absentee Ballot Requests may be obtained from the Town Clerk’s Office, Rehoboth Post Office Lobby, or online @ https://www.sec.state.ma.us/ele/elepdf/absentee/English-Absentee-Ballot-Application.pdf.   An absentee ballot may only be obtained by written request and with the voter’s original signature.   Filing deadline to apply for a mailed absentee ballot request will be 5:00 PM on the fourth (4) business day before Election Day: 

  • Tuesday, June 7, 2022 for the June 11, 2022 Election

“In-Person” at Town Clerk Office-340 Anawan Street absentee ballot request and vote deadline:

  • Remains 12:00 PM (Noon) on Friday, June 10, 2022, day before the June 11, 2022 Special Town Election

All completed absentee ballots must be returned to the Town Clerk’s Office/outside Ballot Drop Box by no later than 6:00 PM on Saturday, June 11, 2022 for the Special Town Election.  

ANNUAL TOWN CENSUS UPDATES
The Rehoboth Annual Town Census reflects our current population total, which as of April 1, 2022 is “officially” 12,609.  That is a decrease of 368 residents over last year’s “official” population figure of 12,977.  After calls to households from our Registrars, we still have 531 census forms, out of 5,324 forms that were mailed in January, which have not been returned (Precinct I = 149 non respondents; Precinct II = 114 non respondents, Precinct III = 134 and Precinct IV = 134 non respondents). Thank you to the 4,793 residents (90.03%) who have returned their 2022 Town Census forms.  For the remaining 9.97% or 531 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, Logan Shaker 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 all!

2022 DOG LICENSES
Dog licenses are due and payable on April 1st of each year.  Thank you to the 1,400+ dog owners who have already renewed their dog’s 2022 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). 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 1st.  You may renew your dog license online (https://www.rehobothma.gov/home/pages/online-permitting ), by mail, or in person.  Currently we have 908 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 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, X3112 or X3110 or e-mail me at LSchwall@RehobothMA.gov .  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, Logan, 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.  Please have a happy, healthy and safe month of MAY!

~ Laura ~

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