March 29, 2024

From the Town Clerk

Posted

Hello All ~ I hope this article finds you all healthy and safe along with having an enjoyable Thanksgiving Holiday.  I wish you all a healthy and happy December holiday season with your family and friends.

11-8-2022 Gubernatorial Election
The Gubernatorial Election had a great turnout ~ 53% (5,429 voters) who voiced their opinion at the November 8, 2022 Gubernatorial Election.  Voter turnout was down a little bit from the 2018 Gubernatorial Election where we saw 60% of the voters participate.  Thank you all who came out to vote; either vote by mail-in early voting, in-person early voting, absentee voting, or in-person voting on November 8th.  The new Francis Farm Community Complex-Museum Building centralized polling location offered the voters a better voting experience than they had in 2018.  Back in 2018 voters waited in lengthy lines at each of the individualized polling locations.  In 2022, if there was a line during election day the wait time was limited to 10-12 minutes to check the voter in.  By having all four precincts voting at one location, if there was a line in one particular precinct, election workers could be pulled from another precinct to help with voter check-in and check-out, which alleviated the lengthy lines we saw at the 2018 Gubernatorial Election.  The official election results can be found on the Town Website @

https://www.rehobothma.gov/sites/g/files/vyhlif4911/f/uploads/rehoboth-official_tally-state_gubernatorial_election-11-08-2022-official_tally-11-23-22.pdf

In addition to thanking the voters who came out to vote, I would personally like to thank our Election Workers who really went above and beyond this Election with not only working Election Day, but also working the 2-week In-Person Early Voting Sessions (inclusive of two Saturdays) and processing the mail-in ballots at the Advanced Processing location.  Thank you to all who assisted with the Early Voting sessions held from October 22nd-November 4th.  It was a long two weeks, but the voters really appreciated the opportunity to vote early. Thank you to our Wardens, Clerks, Constables, Inspectors, Election Equipment “Set-Up/Take-Down” Crew, Maintenance and Highway Departments, Registrars, and the Town Clerk staff, for their help in providing the Rehoboth voters another successful Election!  I would like to personally thank retired Seekonk Town Clerk, Jan Parker, and retired Rehoboth, Town Clerk, Kathy Conti, for helping the Rehoboth Clerk’s Office during the busy election season due to an unexpected staff shortage in the Clerk’s Office; we truly appreciate all your help.  Thank you also, Rehoboth Post Office staff, for going above and beyond in processing the thousands of mailed ballots.  For those of you who don’t know, the Rehoboth Post Office made sure the mailed ballot that the Clerk’s Office dropped off was in the voter’s mailbox the very next day after the Clerk’s office processed the voter’s ballot application.  Postmaster, Derek Melanson, had his staff expedited the processing of ballots both outgoing and incoming from the voters.  Most times, a voter would request a mail-in ballot, the same day it was processed in our office, mailed that evening and in the voter’s mailbox the very next day.  If the voter voted their ballot that same day, placed in their mailbox or drop off at the Rehoboth Post Office or town hall, the Clerk’s office would receive their voted ballot back within two days – simply amazing.  Thank you, Rehoboth Postal employees, ~ we appreciate all your efforts in seeing the voter’s ballots received expedited service!  Thank you also Billy, Sara, and the Vino’s staff for our delicious dinners delivered to all Saturday In-Person early voting sessions and during Election Day.  The meals were delicious ~ thank you!  Thank you, Geri Hamel, Town Nurse, who made available free COVID test kits for our voters at both the In-Person Early Voting Sessions and on Election Day.  If you did not get a test kit, they are available at the Francis Farm Community Complex – Public Health Nurse office, COA Senior Center, Rehoboth Town Hall and Blanding Library.

NEW TOWN HALL
I cannot believe it has been almost a year since we moved from 148 Peck Street to our New Town Hall at 340 Anawan Street, which as you know, is the brick building located next to the Police, Fire and Ambulance stations on Route 118 and across from Highway and the large salt shed.  We moved on December 27, 2021 and are thrilled with our new home.  Thank you voters of Rehoboth.

ANNUAL TOWN CENSUS
Our Annual Town Census Forms for year 2023 will be mailed to all households in Rehoboth during the last week of December/first week of January.  The Board of Registrars is required to conduct an annual listing of residents as of the first of January each year. In addition to the name, address, telephone number, date of birth, occupation, veteran status, and number of dogs, the form includes a section for school information required by the school department.  Please Note: a section for e-mail addresses and cell phone numbers is included on your 2023 Town Census form.  If you no longer have a home phone and use a cell phone, please let us know your new number so we can update our records.  Please also provide your e-mail address ~ thank you.

As a reminder, failure to return the completed Town Census form may result in voters being placed on an “inactive” voting list or being removed from the voting list.  Please do not let this happen to you; please return your census as soon as you receive it in January.  Simply review the pre-printed Census Form, make corrections, sign it, and return it no later than January 31st. You may choose to return the Census Form via the U.S. Postal Service, or utilize the Census drop box at Town Hall. Additionally, you may scan your signed and completed census forms and email them to us at TownClerk@RehobothMA.GOV.  This year we will also be placing the Census drop boxes around town.  Look for a census box at the new Town Hall, Francis Farm COA Senior Center, Blanding Library and the Bristol Savings Bank lobby.  The Clerk’s Office is looking forward to hearing from you in January.

New residents may receive blank forms, which they are asked to complete and return. If you do not receive a Census Form, please contact the Town Clerk’s Office 508-252-6502 X-3112, X-3109 or X-3110.  Blank Census forms are also available on the town website @

http://www.town.rehoboth.ma.us/town-clerk/pages/census-information

For your information, results of the Town Census are used to prove residency for a variety of reasons. The data is also used for state college entrance applications, veterans’ benefits, amending and establishing birth records, locating missing persons, establishing precinct lines, predicting future school enrollment, state and federal funding to the town, police and fire protection, updating the voting list, and other legal purposes.  Please return your town census as soon as possible, but no later than January 31, 2023 ~ thank you.

For the convenience of dog owners, we will again include with the 2023 Census, an application for the 2023 Dog License(s). This gives dog owners the opportunity to license their dogs well before the annual April 1st due date should they want to license their dogs early.  Dog license applications must be accompanied by a current rabies certificate (with a vaccination date of May 1, 2023 or later) and proof of spay or neuter, unless we already have it on file in the Clerk’s Office (if applying for the $10 licensing fee).  If you are unsure, please give the office a call and we can let you know what we have in our database.  Dog owners should note that the license(s) will not be returned unless a stamped, self-addressed envelope is included (the current postage will be printed on the dog license application).  For your information, we are hopeful that we will be able to hold our Annual Rabies Vaccination Clinic again this year; however, we are awaiting direction from the State and local veterinarians to see when and where the rabies vaccination clinic can be conducted.  For scheduling purposes, we hope the Rabies Clinic date will be Saturday, March 11th, 2023; however, that is dependent on the current COVID situation and veterinarian availability.  We will let you know once the date, location and time is set.  Details will hopefully be printed in the 2023 Town Census mailer.  If not, we will send out a mailer to all registered dog owners informing them of the 2023 Rabies Clinic date and location once determined.

Reminder, all residents 70-years old or over do not need to pay the $10 or $20 yearly dog licensing fee. As I’m sure you remember, I submitted an article at the May 8, 2017 Annual Town Meeting (Article 15) requesting Town Meeting vote to accept MGL CHAPTER 140 SECTION 139(c), which states “No fee shall be charged for a license issued under this section for a service animal as defined by the Americans with Disabilities Act or regulations promulgated thereunder. No fee shall be charged for a license for a dog owned by a person aged 70 years or over in a city or town that accepts this provision”.  Town meeting did approve the acceptance of MGL Chapter 140 Section 139 (c), which permits the Town Clerk’s Office to waive dog licensing fees for service animals and for dogs owned by any Rehoboth resident 70 years of age and older.  Proof of rabies vaccinations for each dog and proof of the dog owner’s age (70 or older) is required.  As per Town Counsel, this does not include Kennel Fees.

If you are returning your dog tag application, as well as your census forms, residents are asked to return their completed forms via mail, e-mail, drop off in census bins around town or place their form in the Town Hall drop box at 340 Anawan Street.

PLEASE NOTE:  In 2022, we moved our dog licensing program to an online database program, similar to the Building Permitting process, which can be accessed from the comfort of your home computer, tablet or smartphone.  Complete details of the Dog Licensing Program will again be included in your 2023 Census mailer.  For those residents who registered their dogs in 2022 you may simply choose the “renew” button and make your payment.  The clerk’s office will mail your licenses once we receive your online application and verify the dog’s rabies vaccination.  To register your dog, please go to the Town website – www.RehobothMA.gov – choose “Online Permits” under the “Citizen’s Action Center” on the homepage and choose “Dog License Renewal” or “New Dog License”.  You may also go to the Town Clerk’s dog licensing website @ https://www.rehobothma.gov/town-clerk/pages/dog-licenses and access the online permitting program from there.  You may also continue to use the mail-in/drop-off process or simply stop by to register your dog if you do not have access to a computer or don’t wish to process your dog’s license online. 

Residents are requested to please send in their census forms as quickly as possible regardless of whether or not they license their dogs at this time.

ANNUAL TOWN ELECTION – APRIL 4, 2023
The Annual Town Election for the Town of Rehoboth is scheduled to be held on Tuesday, April 4, 2023 at the Francis Farm Museum (27 Francis Farm Road).

For those who do not participate in a political party’s caucus process, nomination papers will be available as of January 4, 2023 for any registered voter in Rehoboth wishing to run for election on the Town ballot.  The nomination papers may be picked up by prospective candidates, at the Town Clerk’s office. All nomination papers must be returned, signed by a minimum of 50* registered Rehoboth voters, to the Board of Registrars at the Town Clerk’s Office (340 Anawan Street) by 5 p.m. on Tuesday, February 14th.

* The signature minimum changes after each gubernatorial election as per MGL Chapter 53 – Section 6.  The 11-8-22 Gubernatorial Election continued our minimum signature requirement for nomination papers of 50 (1% of the entire votes cast for governor at the preceding biennial state election ~ 5,429 x 1% = 54 ~ MGL 53:6 = maximum of 50 signatures for nominations of town office or regional district school elected positions).  

Positions to be elected on the ballot for 2023 are Moderator (one for 1 year), Board of Selectmen (two position for 3 years), Assessor (one for 3 years), School Committee (two for 3 years), Planning Board (two for 5 years), Park Commission (one for 5 years), Housing Authority (one for 5 years), Constable (one for 3 years) and Water Commissioner (two for 3 years).

The final voter registration date, to be eligible to vote in the Annual Town Election, is scheduled for Saturday, March 25, 2023 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Town Clerk’s Office.

Prospective voters are reminded that they may also register to vote online at www.RegisterToVoteMA.com , 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

ABSENTEE & VOTE BY MAIL BALLOT REQUESTS
Applications for absentee ballots are available as of January 4th and may be obtained from the Town Clerk’s Office or online @ https://www.sec.state.ma.us/ele/elepdf/absentee/English-Absentee-Ballot-Application.pdf or Vote-by-Mail https://www.sec.state.ma.us/ele/eleabsentee/absidx.htm.   An absentee ballot or Vote-by-Mail ballot may only be obtained by written request and with the voter’s original signature.   

URGENT ALERTS – NEWS AND ANNOUNCEMENTS
Over the past several months, there has been very important information provided to those residents who have signed up for the Town’s “Urgent Alerts” and “Subscribe to News”.  The Town’s “Official” notification site is Rehoboth’s town website @ https://www.rehobothma.gov/ .  If important information needs to get to the residents of the Town, we use the front page of the Town’s website; either under “News and Announcements” or “Urgent Alerts” to notify our residents.  Once the information is posted to the website, we send those residents, who have “Subscribed to News”, an e-mail alerting them of the updated important information.  Also, on the front of the Town website is a current listing of all public meetings under the “Meetings” tab, which is next to the “News” tab, in the center of the Town’s homepage.  If you would like to be notified of upcoming meetings, urgent alerts, or news and announcements posted on the Town website, simply click on the “Subscribe to News” under the “Citizen Action Center” on the left side of the home page ( https://www.rehobothma.gov/ ) and complete all the requested information.  For step-by-step directions on how to subscribe, please either click on “How to Subscribe to News & Alerts” under “Subscribe to News” in the “Citizen Action Center” or follow this link:

https://www.town.rehoboth.ma.us/sites/g/files/vyhlif4911/f/uploads/rehoboth-urgent_alert_-_flyer-final.pdf

Please do not rely solely on social media or rumors regarding important Town matters.  All “Official” Town of Rehoboth alerts, meetings, and news are posted on the Town Website and sent to all subscribers to News and Alerts via the e-mail address they provide.  Please “be in the know” by signing up for Subscribe to News & Alerts ~ thank you.

TOWN OFFICES CLOSED
The Town Offices will be closed on Friday, December 23rd and Monday, December 26th, 2022, in observance of the Christmas Holiday.  Offices will also close on Friday, December 30th for New Year’s Eve and January 2, 2023 for New Year’s Day due to the first being a Sunday. 

I would like to wish you all a safe, happy, and healthy holiday season!  We wish peace, HEALTH and prosperity to all Rehoboth residents for the New Year.  It is truly an honor to serve as your Town Clerk for almost ten years ~ thank you all for enriching my life every day!!!  Thank you all for an unforgettable 2022.  Please stay healthy and safe.  Happy Holidays ~ I look forward to talking with you again in January.

Sincerely,
Laura

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