Change your clock, change your battery

Firefighters know the importance of home fire safety. That’s why the men and women of the Dover Fire Department encourage all Dover residents to, Change Your Clock, Change Your Battery! Daylight savings is Sunday March 14th. Don’t forget to change the batteries in your smoke detectors and carbon monoxide detectors!

CAUCUS, March 15, 2010 7:30 PM

A Caucus for the purpose of nominating candidates for Town of Dover Elected Positions will be held on Monday, March 15, 2010 at 7:30 PM at the Town House. The candidate does not have to be present to be nominated. As an alternative, anyone who would like to run for office may be named on the ballot by submitting properly certified nomination papers to the Town Clerk. These nomination papers will be available anytime after March 1 and must be submitted to the Board of Registrars by Wednesday, March 31, 2010 by 1 PM.

The following positions will be open for this year’s election:

Any questions relative to running for Town of Dover Elected Positions can be answered by calling Barrie H. Clough, Town Clerk, at 508-785-0032 extension 226.

Warrant Committee Open Hearing

The Warrant Committee is  sponsoring an Open Hearing to discuss the Warrant for the Annual Town Meeting.

Where: Great Hall, Dover Town House
When: Monday, March 22nd, at 7pm

5th Annual Dover Library Spelling Bee

Save the date and put on your thinking cap … the 5th Annual Dover Library Spelling Bee will be on Thursday, March 25, at 7 p.m. in the Great Hall of the Dover Town House. For more info, visit  www.spellboundindover.blogspot.com.

Annual Dover Roadside Cleanup

Save the date!!  March 27, 2010 (raindate 3/28/10) is the annual Dover Roadside Cleanup; sponsered by the Dover Recycling Committee and the Dover Highway Department – powered by our COMMUNITY!  More details coming.  Questions? please contact the Dover Recycling Committee via email at cpheer@msn.com

Planning Board Public Hearing Notice

The Dover Planning Board announces that the previously scheduled public hearing on Monday, March 29, 2010 will instead be continued to Monday, April 5, 2010 at 7:30 PM in the Dover Town House, 5 Springdale Avenue, Dover, MA, to consider the following amendments to the Dover Zoning Bylaw: (1) to deleting it in its entirety and replacing it with a revised version consisting of clarifications; and (2) replacing Section 185-34 D. Recreational Parking with a revised version to remove the prohibition of more than 5 parking spaces within a 400-foot radius and of locating  spaces more than 100 feet from the road. The complete text of the amendments is on file with the Town Clerk. To view the proposed clarification/amendments to the zoning bylaw click here.

Anybody interested or wishing to be heard should appear at the time and place designated.

Dover’s FY 2010 tax rate of $10.92 has been reviewed and approved by the Department of Revenue.

Tax bills were mailed on December 30, 2009, with the first of two final payments due on February 1, 2010.  Applications for abatement of the real estate or personal property tax must be submitted to the Board of Assessors by February 1, 2010.   For personal exemptions, the application deadline is three months from the date bills were mailed, or March 30, 2010.

As required by law, the Town has updated all real and personal property assessments for FY 2010 using 2008 sales to reflect market value as of January 1, 2009.  The average single family residential valuation is $1,071,801; the median is $847,150.  The tax rate increased approximately 10.8% between FY 2009 and FY 2010.

If you have any questions about your bill or would like further information concerning abatements or exemptions, please contact the Assessors Office at 508-785-0032, ext. 223.

Application Deadline for Town Accountant Position Extended

Applications for the Town Accountant position will be accepted until March 31, 2010. For more information on this position visit the Employment Page.

2009 dog licenses expired on March 1, 2010

Any licenses not renewed by April 15 will be subject to a late fee of $25 in addition to the $15 license fee.

On May 1, a list of unlicensed dogs will be turned over to the Dover Police Department, animal control officer, via the selectmen for further action.  The requirements for licensing a dog are an up-to-date rabies certificate, the $15 fee and the required form filled out.

For more information, call the Town Clerk’s office at 508-785-0032, ext. 226

Annual Town Meeting Warrant

The Annual Town Meeting will be held Monday, May 3 at 7:00pm in the Dover-Sherborn Regional School Alan Mudge Auditorium. View the Warrant.

Have you returned your Town Census yet?

The Census was due to be returned by each household in January.  If there are no changes, simply sign the form in the required space and return it to the Town Clerk.  If there are changes, simply write them in the spaces provided, sign the form and return it.

Residents cannot register to vote on the census form.  You may register to vote at the Town Clerk’s office in Dover, or by obtaining and completing a mail-in form from the post office or any town or city clerk’s office in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.