From the Town Clerk

Posted Wednesday, March 6, 2019 12:18 pm

Hello All ~ Wow, time sure flies when you’re having fun!!! The clerk’s office has been busy processing 2019 census data, dog tag licenses, election nominations, budgets, annual report submissions, and preparing for the upcoming annual town elections. It sure made the time pass quickly! To those of you submitting your census documents and for registering your dogs so promptly ~ thank you. If you have not sent in your census, please forward as soon as possible. Census forms were due January 31st and Dog Licenses are due April 1st.

Upcoming 6th Annual Rehoboth-Seekonk Rabies Clinic
Speaking of dog licenses, Rob Johnson, our Animal Control Officer, Lynn Shaker, and I are thrilled to be a part of the 6th Annual combined Rehoboth-Seekonk Rabies Clinic on Saturday, March 9th from 9 a.m. to Noon at the Seekonk Highway Department – Route 44 & Lake Street. Both Seekonk and Rehoboth Town Clerks will be there along with Animal Control Officers from both towns and Veterinarian, Dr. Truesdale and staff. Rabies shots cost $12 and residents also have the opportunity to renew their dog’s 2019 Dog License at the same time. We will even have dog treats available for our four legged friends. The clinic is open to all animal owners. Cats must be in carriers, dogs on leashes. Massachusetts animal owners must bring either a certificate for a rabies vaccination dated between March and June of last year or a previous Massachusetts three-year rabies certificate from a veterinarian. Our yearly rabies clinics have been a huge success over the past five years, and we look forward to holding many more in the years to come. We hope to see you on Saturday, March 9th.

Dog Licenses For 2019
The 2019 Dog Licenses are now available and are due annually by April 1, 2019. Residents may either purchase their dog’s 2019 Dog License by mail, online at:
https://www.invoicecloud.com/rehobothgovsvcs,
or in person at the Town Clerk’s Office. The office hours are Monday through Thursday from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. and on Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. The licensing fees are as follows: Male or female dog $20.00; female-spayed or male-neutered $10.00. If paying by check, please make sure it is made payable to “Town of Rehoboth”. 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 (508-252-6502 x-3109-Lynn or x-3110-Laura), and we can tell you how up-to-date our information is. Dog owners should note that the license(s) will not be returned unless a stamped, self-addressed envelope is included with current postage (71¢ for one dog tag, 93¢ for two dog tags and $1.15 for three dog tags). If no postage is enclosed, we will hold the dog licenses for you at town hall. You may pick them up at your convenience. To date we have already registered 670 dogs this year. Thank you all for renewing your licenses so promptly; we still have 1,500+ registrations to be renewed. We hope to hear from you soon.

Annual Town Election
The Town of Rehoboth Annual Town Election will be held on Monday, April 1, 2019 with the polls in all three precincts open from 7am to 8pm. As with all elections, the election warrant will be posted, with the polling hours, at the normal three posting locations in each of the three precincts. Election warrant press releases are also sent to the local newspapers, Rehoboth Reporter, Sun Chronicle & Taunton Gazette to post. In addition, the polling hours for the Annual Town Election will be noted on the front page of the Town Website (www.town.rehoboth.ma.us).

The Democratic Town Committee held their Caucus on Saturday, February 16th at Goff Hall with the following Democratic Caucus Nominees being placed on the Annual Town Election Ballot: Moderator for one year term – incumbent William J. Cute, Jr.; Water Commission Three-Year term – incumbent William A. Costa, Sr and Paul W. Jacques for the Two-Year Housing Authority position. All three candidates will be listed as Democratic Caucus Nominees on the April 1st ballot.

The Republican Town Committee held their Caucus on Wednesday, February 6th at the COA (Senior Center) with the following Republican Caucus Nominees to be placed on the Annual Town Election Ballot: Selectman for three year term – incumbent Frederick E. Vadnais, Jr.; Treasurer for three year term – incumbent Cheryl A. Gouveia; Assessor for three year term – incumbent Eugene P. Campbell; Park Commissioner for a five year term – John “Jake” David Kramer, Constables (3) for a three year term – incumbents Kenneth E. Abrams, William A. Dalpe, and Michael P. Deignan; Housing Authority for a five year term – incumbent George Cardono; Water Commission (2) for a three year term – incumbents Edwin “Ted” C. Ballard, Jr. and Joseph A. Nunes. These candidates will be listed on the April 1st ballot as Republican Caucus Nominees. In the addition to the above, the Republican Town Committee also endorsed Craig R. Chapman for D-R Regional District School Committee for the three-year term and Katie E. Eyer for Water Commission’s one-year term.

This year there were four nomination papers that were certified for “Independent/Unenrolled” or “Non-Designated” candidates. Craig R. Chapman for the three-year D-R Regional School Committee term Kathleen Amaral (incumbent) for a five-year term as Park Commissioner; Katie E. Eyer for the one-year Water Commissioner, and Linda D. Sherman for the four-year Housing Authority term. With all the nominations considered, there will be only one contested races for the April 1st election ~ the 5-year Park Commission.

In addition to the contested races, we will also have a “not binding” ballot question. The questions will read:

NON BINDING BALLOT QUESTION #1:
Do you approve of natural gas companies being allowed to extend gas lines within the Town of Rehoboth to provide the availability of natural gas service to residential and business addresses within the Town?
____ Yes ____ No

Upcoming Voter Registration Session
The final date to register to vote in the Annual Town Election is Tuesday, March 12th. Prospective voters are reminded that they may register to vote online by going to www.RegisterToVoteMA.com or by visiting the Town Clerk’s Office, 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 . As an added convenience, the Town Clerk’s office will be open from 8:00 AM to 8:00 PM on March 12th to accommodate last minute registrations.

Absentee Ballot Applications
Applications for absentee ballots are now available and may be obtained from the Town Clerk’s Office, at the post office, or online @ http://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. The deadline to apply for an absentee ballot for the Annual Town Election is Friday, March 29th at 5:00 p.m. Even though town offices are closed at Noon on Friday, March 29th, the Clerk’s office will remain open until 5:00 p.m. on Friday, March 29th to receive absentee ballot applications for the April 1, 2019 election.

ANNUAL TOWN CENSUS FORMS ARE NOW PAST DUE
The Annual Town Census Forms for year 2019 were mailed to all households in Rehoboth during the first week of January. If you haven’t received your census form, please contact the Town Clerk’s Office. You will notice that this year’s census form also contains information regarding your political party affiliation and voter registration. If there is nothing listed in the last column to the right of your name on the census form, it means you are not registered to vote. If you wish to vote in the upcoming April 1st election, please either register online at www.RegisterToVoteMA.com or visit us at the clerk’s office by Tuesday, March 12, 2019. In addition, next to your party affiliation, you will notice an ( I ) or (A) in the first column of your census (left side). Those initials signify that the voter is A-Active or I-Inactive. If you are listed as an inactive voter and you want to vote in the upcoming Annual Town Election, please contact our office immediately to resolve the matter. Residents are asked to review the pre-printed census forms, make corrections, and return your 2019 census forms as soon as possible. Party changes and registrations must be done through the Town Clerk’s Office with your original signature in order to process a change of designation or to register to vote.

As of February 26th, we still have 538 households in Precinct 1; 526 households in Precinct 2 and 583 households in Precinct 3; a total of 1,647 households that have not yet responded to the annual town census. Please return your census form immediately, if you have not already done so ~ thank you.

Mail
It is requested that when you send correspondence to any office at the Town Hall you only include information specific to the department you want to communicate with. As an example, residents might send in their tax payment along with their census form or dog license. Tax payments would go to the Tax Collector whereas census forms or dog licenses would go to the Town Clerk’s Office. By including multiple offices in one envelop it may delay processing your requests or payments. Thank you for your consideration.

Business Certificates
Business owners whose business certificate will expire between January through June of 2019 should have received a reminder for renewal. The renewal fee is $50.00 (certificate renewal is good for four years) and checks should be made payable to “The Town of Rehoboth”. You may also renew using a credit/debit card either online (web address below) or at the Town Clerk’s window. Before a new business can be registered within the town, business owners must first contact the Zoning Officer – Bill McDonough at 148 Peck Street in order to have the location and/or type of business approved. Business license forms and complete process details can be found on the clerk’s website @
http://www.town.rehoboth.ma.us/town-clerk/pages/business-certificates

Finally, if you have any questions on any of the above items please feel free to contact the Town Clerk’s Office at 508-252-6502, X3109 or X3110. Lynn and I wish all residents a Happy St. Patrick’s Day and we hope to see many of you at the upcoming March 9th Rabies Clinic – details above. Please keep warm and safe ~ spring is coming soon ;-) I look forward to speaking with you in April. Please remember to vote on April 1st 7:00 a.m. – 8:00 p.m. – all three precincts will be open. Thank you!