March 28, 2024

From the Town Clerk

Posted

Hello All ~ Happy March!  We have been very fortunate with the snow this year!  As I am writing this article though, we just received our first “plowable” snow; therefore, a huge thank you to Rehoboth Highway, Facilities & Building Maintenance Department and Public Safety personnel for keeping our roads safe during the storm.  The Rehoboth Town Clerk’s Office has been busy processing 2023 census data, dog tag licenses, election nominations, submitting FY 2023 budgets, while also preparing for the upcoming April 4, 2023 Annual Town Election.  It sure made the time pass quickly! 

Welcome Kerrie Perkins and Jenn Hose to Rehoboth Town Clerk’s Office
Speaking of the Town Clerk’s Office, please join me in welcoming Kerrie Perkins, Assistant Town Clerk and Jennifer Hose, Administrative Aide to the Town Clerk, who began working for the Town on February 13, 2023.  Both Kerrie and Jenn bring a wealth of experience to the Town Clerk’s Office and are eager to assist the residents and voters of Rehoboth.  Both Jenn and Kerrie were recommended, by unanimous decision of the Interview Committee, for the two positions and are an absolute pleasure to work with.  If you are in the area and would like to meet them, please stop by, we are button #8 on the foyer keypad, 340 Anawan Street (Route 118).  I would personally like to thank Lynn Shaker for her 17-years of dedicated service to the residents and voters of Rehoboth, as our Assistant Town Clerk.  We hope you enjoy your retirement!! 

Speaking of dedicated service to the Town Clerk’s Office, I would like to also personally thank, Jan Parker, Retired Seekonk Town Clerk, Kathy Conti, Retired Rehoboth Town Clerk, along with Precinct-2 Clerk, Charlotte Castro and Precinct-2 Warden, Maureen Whittemore for your time, help and expertise in the Clerk’s Office during the transition.  I would also like to thank the Interview Committee, Dr. Panofsky, Retired Clerk Kathy Conti and Administrative Assessor, Linda Greaves for your time, dedication, and expertise throughout the interview process.  Thank you all for your help ~ truly appreciated !!! 

2023 Census Mailer
To those of you submitting your census documents and for registering your dogs so promptly ~ thank you.  We mailed 5,580 census forms in January and received and processed 3,771 households to date.  We are still looking for 1,809 census forms to be returned (Precinct 1=481; Precinct 2=450; Precinct 3=428 and Precinct 4=450).  If you did not send in your 2023 census, please forward as soon as possible.  A second mailing will be going out this month to those residents who we do not have phone numbers listed on their census reports and our Registrars, Helene and Jenn, will be calling the remaining residents that have listed phone numbers this month.  Census forms were due January 31st and Dog Licenses will be due by April 1st.  Also, for those 70 residents in Precinct 4, who did not receive your 2023 Census calendar, please contact our office so we can mail one to you as soon as possible.  Additionally, anyone wishing a second 2023 calendar, please let us know.

Upcoming Seekonk-Rehoboth Rabies Clinic – Saturday, March 11, 2023
Seekonk has graciously offered to hold the Rabies Clinic at their Public Safety Building (Fire Division), which is located off of Route 44 by the blinking yellow light:  500 Taunton Avenue, Seekonk, MA.  The clinic will open at 9:00AM and close at 12:00-Noon on Saturday, March 11, 2023.  The Rehoboth Town Clerk’s Office will be there to renew your dog’s 2023 Dog License.  Should you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact the Rehoboth Town Clerk’s Office at 508-252-6502 X-3109, 3112, or 3110.  We look forward to seeing you, your dogs and cats.  Thank you for keeping our pets safe by having them inoculated.

DOG LICENSES FOR 2023
2023 Dog Licenses are now available and may be obtained in-person, by mail, online at https://permiteyes.us/rehoboth/publichome.php for renewal licenses OR for a new dog, which we do not have on file, you may register online at https://permiteyes.us/rehoboth/applyforlicense.php .  You may also drop off your dog licensing documents at the Town Hall drop box (340 Anawan Street). An application for dog license renewal was included in your 2023 Census mailer and directions for using the new Online Dog License program was also included in the census mailer.  If you need help with the online dog licensing, please view the directions online @ https://www.rehobothma.gov/town-clerk/pages/dog-licenses or contact our office – 508-252-6502 X-3109 or X-3112.  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”.   Dog licenses are due annually by April 1st.  Whether renewing online, via mail, drop box, or in person, dog license applications must be accompanied by a current year rabies certificate (with a vaccination date covering the current licensing year-May 1st or later) 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 the office a call, and we can tell you how up-to-date our information is.  Dog owners should note that the license(s) to be mailed should include a stamped, self-addressed envelope is included with postage (the current postage is 71¢ for one dog tag, 93¢ for two dog tags and 1.15¢ for three tags).  As of this writing, we have processed 730 of the 2,000+ dog licenses, which is 22 less than last year at this time ~ thank you all for submitting so quickly and if you have not registered your dog, please do so prior to the April 1st deadline ~ thank you.  We hope you like the new online permitting dog licensing program.

Reminder, all residents 70-years old or over do not need to pay the $10 or $20 yearly dog licensing fee. 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.

The Annual Town Election ~ Tuesday, April 4, 2023
The Annual Town Election for the Town of Rehoboth will be held on Tuesday, April 4, 2023 with the polls open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. – All four precinct locations will be voting at one centralized polling location: Francis Farm Community Complex (27 Francis Farm Road) – Museum building.  If you would like to review the facility and layout of the polling location, please visit the Town Website at:  https://www.rehobothma.gov/home/news/rehoboth-changes-its-centralized-polling-location-francis-farm-community-center-museum 

Nomination papers have been certified with the following candidates running on the April 4, 2023 ballot:

Running for re-election is Bill Cute Moderator (one for 1 year), Board of Selectmen (two positions for 3 years) Rob Johnson, II and Lenny Mills, Jr. are running for re-election, Assessor (one for 3 years) Riccardo Binetti is running for re-election, and Water Commissioner (two for 3 years) Katie Eyer and Tish Vadnais are also running for re-election.  School Committee (two for 3 years) incumbents Richard Barrett, Aaron Morse are running along with Robert Owens; all three candidates will be running for the two positions available.  Housing Authority (one for five years) is Elizabeth Ruehrwein, Planning Board (two for 5 years) finds incumbent Lenny Mills, Jr. running for re-election along with Tim Dorrance, who is running for his first term.  Park Commission (one for 5 years) we have another contested race with incumbent Ken Abrams running for re-election and Miranda Aguiar; both running for the one elected Parks Commission position available.  Finally, since Rehoboth moved from 3-4 Precincts in 2021 and voted to add a 4th Constable position at the next Annual Town Election at the 5-14-2022 Annual Town Meeting, we have one Constable position for a 3-year term available.  Running for the fourth elected Constable’s position will be Russell Richmond and Gary Zimmer for the one Elected Constable position.  As you can see from the detail above, there will be three contested races on the April 4, 2023 Annual Town Election Ballot:  D-R Regional School Committee, Parks Commission and Constable.  Additionally, at the February 27, 2023 Board of Selectmen’s meeting, the Board voted to place the Bristol-Plymouth Vocational Technical School Debt Exclusion ballot question on the April Town Election Ballot.  The ballot question to be voted is: 

“Shall the Town of Rehoboth be allowed to exempt from the provisions of proposition two and one-half, so called, the amounts required to pay for the bond issued in order to fund the Bristol-Plymouth Regional Vocational Technical School District building project?”

Any questions or concerns regarding the above ballot question should be directed to the Board of Selectmen or their office ~ thank you.

The final voter registration date, to be eligible to vote in the Annual Town Election, is scheduled for Saturday, March 25th from 8 AM to 5 PM 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 & Mail-In Ballot Requests
Applications for absentee ballots are available as of January 3rd 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

An absentee ballot may only be obtained by written request and with the voter’s original signature.   Most voters do not qualify to receive an absentee ballot to be sent to them.  Massachusetts allows voters that QUALIFY to vote by absentee ballot if the voter is one of the following:

  • Will be absent from your city or town on election day.
  • Has a physical disability that prevents voting at the polling place.
  • Cannot vote at the polls due to religious beliefs.

If you do not qualify for an “Absentee Ballot”, you can vote by mail by completing the “No Excuse” Vote by Mail ballot application detailed below this paragraph.  The filing deadline to apply for a mailed absentee ballot request is five (5) business days before Election Day-Thursday, March 30th at 5:00 PM; “in-person” absentee ballot requests for the April 4, 2023 Annual Town Election remain 12:00 p.m. on April 3, 2023, day before the election. Completed ballot requests/applications must be returned to the Town Clerk’s Office no later than 5:00 PM on Thursday, March 30, 2023.  All absentee ballots must be returned to the Town Clerk’s Office by mail or dropping off in the outside Ballot Drop Box (located at Town Hall) no later than 8:00 p.m. on Tuesday, April 4, 2023.

No Excuse Early Voting By Mail – “Vote By Mail”
The 2022-Votes Act legislation approved in June of 2022, allows those voters who do not qualify for an Absentee Ballot to vote by mail by completing the “Vote by Mail” application @

https://www.sec.state.ma.us/ele/elepdf/Vote-by-Mail-Paper-Application-2023.pdf

Applications for ballots to be mailed to a voter must be received by the Town Clerk by 5PM on the 5th business day before an election.  We recommend applying earlier than the deadline as the US Postal delivery services outside of Rehoboth are not consistent and can range from 2 to 11 days.  

Finally, if you have any questions on any of the above items discussed, please feel free to contact the Town Clerk’s Office at 508-252-6502, X3109, X3112 or X3110.  Kerrie, Jenn and I wish all residents a Happy St. Patrick’s Day and we hope to see many of you at the upcoming March 11, 2023 Rabies Clinic and April 5, 2022 Annual Town Election – details above.  Please keep warm and safe ~ spring can’t be far away!  I look forward to speaking with you in April.  Please mark your calendars to vote at the April 4th Election at Francis Farm.  Thank you ~ please stay well!

Laura

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