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From the Town Clerk
Hello All ~ The temperature is warming; flowers blooming; birds singing ~ Happy Spring! March has certainly been crazy busy for the Town Clerk’s Office. During the month of March, we had the Bristol-Plymouth District-Wide Special Election and Debt Exclusion Election, processed thousands of census forms and dog licenses, held a joint Rabies Clinic with the Town of Seekonk, had two Selectmen and a Stormwater Agent resign and the Board of Selectmen schedule a Special Election for Saturday, June 11th; which introduced, not only, the preparation and certification of nomination papers for Selectmen and Stormwater Agent races, but also, while we are certifying nomination papers for the upcoming State Primary for the following offices: Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Attorney General, Secretary of State, State Treasurer, Auditor, Sheriff, District Attorney, County Commissioner, Representative in Congress, Governor’s Council, Senator in the General Court and Representative in the General Court. All while also preparing for the April 5th Annual Town Election, working on the Town Clerk’s portion of the 2021 Annual Report and completing the Town Clerk’s fiscal year 2023 budgets. In addition to the normal busy March, this year we gained another Special Town Meeting also, which Selectmen voted to be held on August 6th to discuss the K-8 Withdrawal. That will give us eight elections/town meetings in 2022; a record year for the Clerk’s Office.
ANNUAL TOWN ELECTION
Thank you, Rehoboth Reporter, for extending the deadline to submit my article so we can include the results of the April 5, 2022 “unofficial” Annual Town Election results. Below please find the “unofficial” results for the April 5, 2022 Annual Town Election. Thank you, Rehoboth voters, for voting and congratulations to all candidates who participated in Rehoboth’s 2022 Annual Town Election.
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 resignation should be directed to the Town Clerk as per MGL c41, s109. Thank you!
2022 DOG LICENSES ARE NOW PAST DUE
2022 Dog licenses were due April 1, 2022. You may purchase your dog’s license through Rehoboth’s new online permitting website at https://www.rehobothma.gov/ – click on Online Permitting under the Citizen Action Center and choose Dog Licenses “Renewal” or “New” Dog 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 coming in June ~ thank you. To date we registered 1,091 dogs and still have over 1,200 to register. 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 1,091 residents 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 all the Rehoboth volunteers and Seekonk Save-a-Pet volunteers who processed the rabies licenses. Even though it was a rainy Saturday, Rehoboth and Seekonk residents showed up with their pets to get them vaccinated. Rehoboth also registered 18 dogs and Seekonk registered 13. We look forward to participating in the Rehoboth-Seekonk Joint Rabies Clinic again next year mid-March 2023.
ANNUAL TOWN MEETING
Rehoboth voters are advised that the date for the Annual Town Meeting has been scheduled by the Board of Selectmen for Saturday, May 14th, beginning at 1:00 p.m. The meeting will be held at the Francis Farm Community Complex – Museum Building – 27 Francis Farm Road. Town Meeting Warrants, after approved and sent to the printer by the Board of Selectmen’s Office, should arrive in your mailbox, early May, 2022. Last day to register to vote, in order to participate in the Annual Town Meeting, will be Friday, April 22, 2022 from 8:00AM-8:00PM 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
UPCOMING JUNE 11, 2022 – SPECIAL TOWN ELECTION
Nomination Papers are available for the two (2) vacated Selectman seats (Term 1-Year) along with one (1) Stormwater Agent position (Term 2-Year). Nomination papers may be requested by the candidate, who is a registered Rehoboth voter, by showing up in person, during regular office hours (Monday-Thursday 8:00AM-4:00PM and Fridays 8:00AM-12:00-Noon) at the Town Clerk’s Office – Button #8. Prospective candidates must return their signed nomination papers (with a total of 50+ registered voter signatures) by 5:00PM on Friday, April 22, 2022. Both the Republican and Democratic Town Committees have scheduled their Caucus for Tuesday, May 3, 2022 at 7:00PM – The Rehoboth Republican Town Committee will meet at Francis Hall at the Francis Farm Community Complex – 27 Francis Farm Road. The Rehoboth Democratic Town Committee will be meeting at 7:00PM at the Blanding Public Library – Goff Memorial Hall, 124 Bay State Road.
UPCOMING VOTER REGISTRATION SESSION
The final Voter Registration date to be eligible to participate in the Special and Annual Town Meeting has been scheduled for Friday, April 22, 2022 from 8:00AM to 8:00PM at the Rehoboth Town Clerk’s Office. Prospective voters are reminded that they may also register to vote online by going to www.RegisterToVoteMA.com or by 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, or download a form online @ 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 2022 were mailed to all households in Rehoboth during the first week of January. As of March 30th, we have a total of 556 households that still need to return their forms: Precinct 1 = 158 households in Precinct 2 = 118 households, 139 households in Precinct 3 and 141 households in Precinct 4. If you haven’t returned your 2022 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 4,768 households 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 Jennifer Moitoso, Helene Vitale and Kathy Conti, along with Lynn Shaker, Logan Shaker and Odete Lacourse for your exceptional work with the 2022 Census process.
In closing, every April I am reminded 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 nine wonderful years. I truly love my job and look forward to serving the Town of Rehoboth for many years to come. One of the benefits of the job is to work with a wonderful staff in the Clerk’s Office. On April 13th one of our team will be will be going in for hip replacement surgery. Lynn ~ we wish you well with your surgery and hope for a speedy, painless recovery. We will miss you and look forward to your return when you are feeling much better. Thank you, Odete and Logan, for stepping up and helping during Lynn’s absence. As mentioned earlier, this year is a record year with the number of elections and town meetings our office is responsible for. I thank you all (Lynn, Logan and Odete) for your time and dedication to the responsibilities of our office and for the residents and voters of Rehoboth. We are an awesome team!
During the month of April, Lynn, Logan, Odete and I hope you have a wonderful Patriot’s Day, have a most enjoyable Easter, Passover, Earth Day, and Arbor Day. 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 Monday, May 2nd, annual Excise Taxes were due April 1, 2022, yearly dog licenses were due April 1, 2022, and Annual Census forms were due January 31, 2022. I look forward to chatting with you again in May and hopefully seeing you at our upcoming Annual Town Meeting on Saturday, May 14th. We hope you all enjoy the beautiful spring weather. Lynn we wish you well with your surgery and recovery!
Thank you,
Laura
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