Dear fellow Hanoverians:<\/p>\n
Hanover Town Clerk Catherine Harder-Bernier confirmed this past week with
\nFinance Director Chelsea Stevens that due to the COVID-19 partial hiring
\nfreeze, the Town of Hanover will not be filling the Assistant Town Clerk
\nposition until sometime after the May Annual Town Meeting confirms approval
\nof the position for Fiscal 2022. The office used to have two full-time
\nemployees, and now there is only one. Therefore, the Town Clerk\u2019s Office
\nwill continue to be understaffed for the rest of this fiscal year, as it
\nhas been since the end of August, 2020. <\/p>\n
\u201cHanover residents are used to the Town Clerk\u2019s Office acting as the
\nwelcoming and helpful \u2018front porch to the old-style General Store\u2019, and
\nproviding superior customer service\u201d said Harder-Bernier.
\n\u201cUnfortunately, with the reduction in staff to half our usual
\navailability, we are simply unable to fulfill the mission of this office
\nthe way we would like to fulfill it, and the way Hanover residents are used
\nto,\u201d she continued. <\/p>\n
In order to protect the integrity of the work that is urgently necessary
\nand due to the COVID-19 partial hiring freeze and service cuts, the
\nfollowing services have been changed as follows:
\n\u2022\tThe Town, including the Town Clerk\u2019s Office, no longer provides
\nnotary public services
\n\u2022\tAs a result of a tag manufacturing delay and the staffing shortage, dog
\nlicense applications for 2021 are back-logged and currently being responded
\nto approximately 4-6 weeks after the application. That will result in a
\nlag-time for checks to be cashed, but residents should rest assured that
\ntheir checks are secured in the meantime.
\n\u2022\tThe phones will be answered \u201clive\u201d as much as humanly possible. We
\nwill strive to return phone messages within one business day. In the
\nmeantime, residents are urged to seek information on the Town Clerk\u2019s
\nsection of the website.
\n\u2022\tAll records requests, including vital records (birth, marriage and
\ndeath certificates), business certificates, public records, etc., will be
\nresponded to as soon as possible, but as the law allows, they may take up
\nto 10 days to be responded to. Residents are kindly asked to plan
\naccordingly.
\n\u2022\tIn-person appointments are being made for people who wish to file
\nmarriage intentions or need to be sworn in to a new position.
\n\u2022\tBecause of the pandemic, ALL other transactions are being handled
\nelectronically, via a drop-off in the front door mail slot, or via US Mail
\n– depending on the nature of the transaction and the location of the
\nrequestor.
\n\u2022\tThe planned application for CPC funding to further the planned archival
\nof files from the basement of Town Hall that are now stored at Sylvester
\nSchool has been delayed at least another year.<\/p>\n
\u201cHanover residents should rest assured that this is not how I like
\nservices to be provided, and I sincerely regret any inconvenience or delay
\nthe COVID-19-related partial hiring freeze is causing. I will do my best
\nto do both jobs for now! I look forward to re-authorizing a full-time
\nAssistant Town Clerk to this office at the May 3 Annual Town Meeting,\u201d
\nsaid Harder-Bernier. \u201cIn the meantime, the one service that will not
\nchange is the administration of our elections. That has always been of
\nutmost importance. Fortunately, the former Finance Director Lincoln
\nHeineman agreed with me and allowed me to hire four temporary per-diem
\nstaff back in the fall. Hopefully that prioritization will continue and
\nper diem staff can be re-hired this spring as we gear up for the May Annual
\nTown Election,\u201d she continued.<\/p>\n
Residents who wish to transact business with the Town Clerk\u2019s Office
\nshould contact Town Clerk Catherine Harder-Bernier at
\ncatherine.harderbernier@hanover-ma.gov or (781) 826-5000 x1079.<\/p>\n
For “Around Town on the Web”,
\nCathy H-B<\/p>\n
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Dear fellow Hanoverians: Hanover Town Clerk Catherine Harder-Bernier confirmed this past week with Finance Director Chelsea Stevens that due to the COVID-19 partial hiring freeze, the Town of Hanover will not be filling the Assistant Town Clerk position until sometime … Continue reading