Dear fellow Hanoverians:
Hanover Town Clerk Catherine Harder-Bernier announced today that effective
immediately, late fees that have been imposed previously for those who fail
to license their dogs by April 30th in a given year will be reduced from
$35 to $10.
“Immediately prior to when I took office in 2013, Hanover Town Meeting
decided to increase the late fee that was imposed to license a dog after
the April 30th deadline to $35. In my almost two years in office since
then, I have found that late fee to be punitive, unnecessary, and in fact a
deterrent to those wishing to license their dogs after the deadline”,
said Harder-Bernier. “In my mind, the Town of Hanover ought to be
encouraging residents to license their dogs, not discouraging. I have had
people literally walk away from my counter refusing to license their dog
simply because the late fee was ridiculously high. Further, there are
people in Hanover for whom $35 is a great deal of money; and we should be
respectful of that”.
The purpose of licensing dogs is based in public health goals, especially
including the goal of insuring that dogs have up-to-date rabies vaccines
and that those vaccination records are checked each year before a license
is issued. Additionally, if a dog causes harm to a resident or property,
the dog can be quickly identified and dealt with by the animal control
officer. “And finally”, said Harder-Bernier, “as a service to the
residents of Hanover, we have reunited numerous lost dogs with their owners
simply because the dog was wearing a numbered Hanover dog license tag and
we were able to look the tag up in our records. What better reason is
there to license your dog?”
Hanover’s compliance rate for licensing dogs hovers between 32-40%, a
dismal figure by any standards. “We want to increase that rate, and
lowering the late fee will hopefully do so”, said Harder-Bernier.
“Dogs bring so much joy to so many people; they should not be an economic
burden, and this small step should help alleviate that”, she said.
The dog licensing period runs from January 1st – April 30th every year in
Hanover. Residents are still encouraged to license their dogs before the
deadline of April 30th, but at least going forward, if you run late, the
late fee penalty will only be $10.
For more information, please contact the Town Clerk’s Office at (781)
826-5000 x1079 or by e-mail at catherine.harderbernier@hanover-ma.gov or
joanne.occonor@hanover-ma.gov .
For “Around Town on the Web”,
Cathy H-B
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