Rehoboth to Codify Bylaws

Rehoboth will be codifying its town bylaws.

The Board of Selectmen on Monday approved a contract with General Code for $10,000.

The company, based in Rochester, New York, will make the bylaws available on the town website. The process will be completed before the end of 2024.

Town Clerk Laura Schwall said the bylaws will have to reviewed first and then approved at town meeting.

“Right now, our bylaws are frustrating to search for something,” Schwall noted.

“It’s the role of government to make sure that these documents are accessible,” said Zachary Dumont of General Code.

Selectmen did not want to make any changes to the bylaws, even to correct minor errors such as typos.

“It’s not professional,” Schwall said to Chairman Skip Vadnais.

“It might not be professional but it’s not illegal when you’re trying to bring this into something that it needn’t be,” Vadnais replied.

Schwall provided a link to the town of Swansea’s bylaws. Rehoboth’s bylaws will have a similar appearance:  https://ecode360.com/SW3945.

135 municipalities in Massachusetts have General Code’s Codification of their Bylaws, including Mansfield, Plainville, Fall River, Easton, Fairhaven, and Taunton.