HomeMy WebLinkAboutREPORT OF THE TOWN CLERK-2011 ANNUAL TOWN REPORT REPORT OF THE TOWN CLERK- 2011
I respectfully submit my report as Town Clerk for 2011.
Our Annual Town Election on March 29, 2011 re-elected Tracy M. Watson and returned
Donald B. Stewart to the Board of Selectmen. There was a thirteen vote margin between
the second and third place finishers. Stan Limpert was re-elected to another three year
term on the School Committee and Brian Gross was the newly elected member. Ted
Snell was elected to the North Andover Housing Authority for a five year term. The new
Greater Lawrence Regional High School Representative for a three year term was Frank
A. Rossi. Again, a margin of only six votes determined this position. The dedication of
my Board of Registrars Martha Salisbury, Carrie Crouch and Betsy Leeman and all the
dedicated election workers make our election process work so well.
Our Annual Town Meeting was held and dissolved on Tuesday June 7. This meeting
dealt with 40 Articles and many complicated issues which were submitted to the Attorney
General, approved, and enacted into law. Many legislative petitions were submitted to
the General Court for legislative enactment. Months of diligent efforts of our Boards,
Committees, and Departments leading to the Annual Town Meeting result in a successful
legislative process.
We continue to be a thriving and convenient Passport Issuance Agency. We take pride in
providing this outstanding service to the public. We again participated in the National
Passport Day in the USA in March and opened our doors on Saturday with 34 passports
issued.
The Town Clerk's Office recorded 260 births, 279 deaths, and 84 marriages in 2011. We
continue our efforts as the information hub of the Town. Through enhanced electronic
and web-based technology to better record keeping and information retrieval, we strive to
meet the needs of our growing community. Document preservation, scanning and
indexing records for retrieval and research are all in our plans for the future. We are
pleased to have all our restored records on our web site.
My staff provides outstanding service to our residents, businesses, and visitors. Assistant
Town Clerk, Karen Fitzgibbons, is in charge of all Licensing for the Board of Selectmen
and also Vital Statistics. Karen offers outstanding support to existing and new businesses
and helps North Andover maintain and attract the positive business environment we
enjoy. Suzanne Pelich and Patricia Sifferlen provide outstanding Passport Acceptance
with over 1,000 passports accepted in 2011 and providing for our other responsibilities.
Mandates for Open Meeting Law, Campaign Finance Requirements and Ethics
Commission tracking and filing have added significant new responsibilities. Harold
Dushame has been a volunteer in our office for over twelve years and his assistance is
invaluable. As the Town Clerk, it would not be possible to provide the high level of
service to the community without these talented and dedicated individuals.
Reprecincting and Redistricting which is completed every ten years after the results of
the 2010 Federal Census are received was an arduous and critical process as we prepare
for 2012 and four elections. This was especially complicated because the new districts
and precincts need to be in place for the March 2012 Presidential Primary. With over
18,000 voters and over 30,000 residents service demands keep growing.
We again thank the people of North Andover for their support and assistance in our
diverse projects.