From the Town Clerk

Posted Thursday, June 6, 2024 12:59 pm

Hello All – I hope you had a most enjoyable Memorial Day. I would like to take a moment to pause and remember all the brave men and women, and their families, who have made the ultimate sacrifice while serving our nation. Thank you for protecting the freedoms that we enjoy today.

JUNE 4^th (Tuesday) ANNUAL TOWN MEETING
As you may remember from last year’s Town Meeting, the Town voted to move the Annual Town Meeting from the second Tuesday in May to the first Tuesday of June; therefore, our upcoming Town Meeting will be held on June 4, 2024 at the Francis Farm Community Complex – Museum Building, 27-Francis Farm Road. Voter check-in will begin at 6:00 PM; Town Meeting will begin at 7:00 PM. All households received a copy of the 6-4-2024 in their mailbox on May 22^nd.

The last day for Voter Registration, to be eligible to participate in the Annual Town Meeting, was Saturday, May 25, 2024. 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 along with what precinct you vote in.

CENSUS FORMS & STREET LISTINGS
A huge thank you to the 5,258 households who returned their January 2024 Census forms. To date we have 600 households who did not return their census forms. Unfortunately, as per State law, all city and town clerk offices must “inactivate” all voters who did not return their 2024 census form by the first Monday in June and send them a confirmation mailing notice. If you are one of those voters, please update the confirmation card with your current address, sign the card and send the postage paid postcard back to our office so we may reactivate you for the upcoming State Primary Election on September 3^rd and Presidential and State Election on November 5, 2024. We have really tried to help update your census record by mailing the census mailer with the town calendar the first week of January, reminder notices in February, Registrars called your homes in March and a second reminder sent in April. Please update your census status and reactivate your voting status by returning the confirmation cards, which you will be receiving mid-June. Thank you.

We are currently waiting for the printer to deliver the Annual Street Listings. We have been given a tentative date of June 3rd for delivery. If you would like to purchase a 2024 Annual Street Listing for $15.00, please call our office prior to venturing to Town Hall to make sure we received the shipment. Thank you.

DOG LICENSES WERE DUE APRIL 1, 2024 – 60-DAY GRACE PERIOD IS ENDING
All dog licenses were due and payable by April 1st. After a 60-day grace period, delinquent dog owners will be assessed a $15.00 late fee, per dog, for any licenses that have not been renewed by June 1st. To date we still have 505 dogs that remain unlicensed. If you are one of the dog owners who still needs to register their dogs, you will unfortunately be assessed an additional $15.00 per unlicensed dog if the license is not renewed by June 1. We are truly sorry for the added expense; however, it is required by Massachusetts General Law and our Town Bylaws, and it is unfair to those who registered within the prescribed timeframe if we don’t assess the required late fee. Please register your dog before the next deadline (July 15, 2024) to avoid an additional $25.00 late fee and a non-criminal citation. Please renew your dog licenses as soon as you are able ~ thank you. To date we have registered 1,788 dogs. Remember, in addition to being a legal requirement, registering your dog assures the prevention of rabies in our community, and provides easy identification to reunite lost dogs with their owners because they are now in our database.

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.

NEW BYLAW CODIFICATION – READY FOR TOWN MEETING VOTE
At the May 13, 2024 Board of Selectmen’s meeting, the Board voted to only put forward the reordering and reorganizing of the Bylaws and delayed the “General Revisions” to the Fall Town meeting. Fall Town Meeting date to be determined by the Selectboard. Mr. Cute, our Moderator, put forward the tentative dates of Monday, September 16^th, 23^rd or 30^th. If you would like to look at the revisions General Code and the subject matter experts have agreed to, please check the front of the Town website (www.RehobothMA.gov ) – under News and Announcements – 2024 – Rehoboth Codification Project.

Please note, due to recent events, I would like to clarify that the Town Clerk and Dr. Panofsky are simply facilitators of the Codification Project, as we were directed to do by the Board of Selectmen. General Code conducted an Editorial and Legal analysis of our bylaws and provided suggested areas which could be revised to remove spelling and grammatical errors, duplicate language, and State statute changes. The changes were provided to department heads and Committee/Board Chairs, including the Board of Selectmen and Legal Counsel. The “subject matter experts” opinions were incorporated and relayed back to General Code. That is where the list of proposed changes was derived. State law requires even editorial changes and routine updating of bylaws must be approved by voters in town meetings.

Thank you to all those residents and voters who have expressed their appreciation and support of Dr. Panofsky’s and my facilitation of the codification project. Your kind comments have really touched us. Thank you for taking the time to share your thoughts and support. I know working together we will see this project to a successful conclusion on behalf of our residents. Thank you!

CONGRATULATIONS ALL 2024 GRADUATES
I want to extend my congratulations to all 2024 Graduates for achieving your important milestone. I wish you all the best with your future endeavors! Much happiness to all the graduates and their families!

Anyone having questions regarding any of the above information listed in my article may call the Town Clerk’s Office at 508-252-6502, X3109, X3112 or X3110 or e-mail me at LSchwall@RehobothMA.gov. Finally, during the month of June, Kerrie, Jenn and I wish all the Fathers a Happy Father’s Day. Please remember to fly your American Flag on June 14th in honor of Flag Day, enjoy the Juneteenth holiday, and as Summer begins on June 20^th, we also wish you all a happy, healthy, safe, and memorable Summer!

Thank you again for your continued support. Please stay healthy and safe! I look forward to talking with you in July ~ Laura ~