Rehoboth Town Clerk

Hello All ~ where did July go? A friendly reminder, real estate taxes were due Monday, August 1, 2016. You may process your tax payment online @ https://www.invoicecloud.com/rehobothma, drop them off at town hall (hours Monday-Thursday 8-4 and Friday 8-Noon), drop off your payment in the outside drop box (24/7), or mail to Cheryl Gouveia Treasurer/Tax Collector via US Post Office.

NEMCI&A / IIMC – Year Two Certification Classes

Thanks to your vote at Town Meeting, I attended my second year (three-year program) of the International Institute of Municipal Clerk’s training at the beautiful campus of Plymouth State University in Plymouth, New Hampshire. It was a wonderful learning and networking experience. I was one of twenty-two students in the “year-2” program. Our class was made up of fourteen clerks from Massachusetts, two clerks from Maine, two clerks from Connecticut, one clerk from New Hampshire, two clerks from Vermont and one clerk from Rhode Island. It was a grueling six days – one day with only one hour of sleep; however, we gained a wealth of information that will allow us to become even better Town/City Clerks. Over the six day schedule, I accumulated 114.5 hours of class time and homework hours up from the 89.25 hours I had last year. Classes started when we arrived on campus on Saturday, July 9th – my birthday. First class began at 4:30 p.m. and ended at 7:30 p.m. Starting with our Sunday, July 10th classes, our “official” daily schedule for the week began at 7:00 a.m. each day in the cafeteria for breakfast. Classes started at 8:00 a.m. and ran until 9:00 p.m. with a lunch and dinner break in between. Homework was assigned for the next day for most of our classes, which resulted in my classmates and I working until 1-2 in the morning in order to be prepared for the next day.

It was interesting to learn how the Clerk’s role differs in other States, as well as sharing ideas with fellow Clerks from Massachusetts. The Year Two program, as described in our handouts, encompassed “an intermediate level course with continuing lectures on the skills of professional administration, management, decision-making, written communication, public speaking, parliamentary procedure, interpersonal communication, etc. Clerks in Year 2 continued to develop their professionalism and learn through interaction with each other. ” (NEMCIA.org). The courses this year were: Dealing with Difficult People; Creative & Critical Thinking; Government Finance; Public Speaking; Computers - Focused on PowerPoint Presentations and I created and presented a virtual tour of our beautiful and historic town of Rehoboth for the class. There are five clerks from our class who are planning to visit Rehoboth soon as a result! The other courses I took were Problem Solving, Municipal Law, Conflict Resolutions, Managing Your Energy-Calming the Chaos, Probate, Statistics, and another ZBA Mock Hearing. All in all, it was a wonderful, productive, and enjoyable week. I’m tired, but it’s a good tired because we learned so much, which will in turn allow us to be more productive and available to the community. I can’t wait until next year’s classes!

2016 Street Listings Are Available

If you would like a copy of the 2016 Street Listings, there is a charge of $15.00. You may pick up your copy at Town Hall – Clerk’s Office or online at https://www.invoicecloud.com/rehobothgovsvcs.

2016 Dog Tags – Past Due – Citations Unfortunately Issued

I am pleased we have registered 1,958 dogs so far this year, unfortunately, we still have 76 dogs that remain unlicensed. All dog licenses were due April 1st, a reminder postcard was sent out prior to the $15 late fee being imposed on June 1st and a second reminder letter was sent out to the dog owners prior to the July 15th Citation and an additional $25 late fee were imposed. If you are one of the residents that have not renewed their dog’s license this year, please make sure the dog has a valid rabies certificate and register your dog as soon as possible. A $10.00 dog license renewal fee has now escalated to $56.47 per dog. Please license your dog as soon as possible to avoid further action involving the Animal Control Officer. You may pay via mail, stopping by town hall, dropping off your payment and valid rabies certificate in the “drop box” outside of town hall, or by paying online at https://www.invoicecloud.com/rehobothgovsvcs. Please know if your dog is ill and can’t receive a rabies shot, or has passed, we will not know unless you notify the clerk’s office 508-252-6502 x-3109 or x-3110 ~ thank you.

Vitals Information

Rehoboth is a popular place for weddings again this year; especially between June through August. To date we have 50 couples that have applied for a marriage license. Last year this time we had 32. In addition to the marriage certificates, we also had 18 births (up from 12 in 2015) and 30 deaths (down from 32 in 2015).

Business Certificates

If you are filing for a new business within the Town of Rehoboth, or if you are planning to file a DBA (Doing Business As), you must first go to the Building Inspector/Zoning Officer’s office at 320 Anawan Street to determine if any filings are necessary with their office prior to completing the final step of filing with the Town Clerk’s office. The fee to file for a business certificate is $50. The certificate is valid for four years. Should an amendment to the business certificate be needed, a $10 fee will be charged. For forms and additional business certificate information, please visit our town website @ http://www.town.rehoboth.ma.us/town-clerk/pages/business-certificates

In closing, as a volunteer on the Town Event’s Committee, I would like to remind you to mark your calendar for the upcoming 17th Annual Larry Procopio – Harvest Block Party on Saturday, September 17 (rain date – Sunday September 18) from 9:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m. at Redway Plain. Any vendors that are interested in obtaining a booth should contact Chairperson, Mary Beth Moriarty at maryelizabethmoriarty@yahoo.com.

Lynn and I wish you all a safe, happy, most enjoyable summer, and a wonderful Labor Day holiday.

Laura & Lynn