SOUTH HADLEY — In preparation for the upcoming annual town election and town census, the Town Clerk’s office will close in the afternoons for three months starting next month.
On Feb. 1, the office will close at 1 p.m. every day until April 27.
Town Clerk Carlene Hamlin will instead devote more time to census records entry and preparing candidates’ ballot petitions for the annual election in April.
“We have a fairly busy part of the year coming up that’s going to have her dedicating more time towards the upcoming election and the census work,” South Hadley Town Administrator Michael Sullivan said. “As a way of maximizing our productivity we are having hours in the morning for people to come in.”
During that time, the town clerk’s office will process nomination papers for the annual town election, file paperwork for upcoming state elections, collect and enter census data, process dog license applications and file results from the recent special Town Meeting with the attorney general’s office, according to Hamlin.
“It’s a pretty busy time in the town clerk’s office is working hard to meet those demands,” Hamlin said.
In the meantime, Hamlin and Sullivan encourage residents to use services offered online through the town’s website. License applications, permits, records, certificates and voter registration can all be accessed online through the website or via email.
“I think this is the future of municipalities as we pay more for self-service platforms on our website there’s offices that are going to be used differently in the future,” Sullivan said.
For the month of January and the beginning of tax season, the town extended hours in the Collector’s Office until 6 p.m. on Wednesdays and Thursdays. Prior to Jan. 1, the town experienced staffing issues in the office with two retirements and a health complication for another employee. Those changes came amid an end-of-year rush to prepay property taxes before the new tax reforms approved by Congress went into effect.
“Normally, with the exception of this year, (December) is a relatively slow time for the collector’s office,” Sullivan said. “We usually are busier with tax collection in January after bills go out.”
The collector’s office will be open on Saturday from 9 a.m. to noon to answer additional tax questions, as this tends to be a high-demand time, according to Sullivan.
The town census went out on Jan. 1 and the clerk’s office has been collecting them all month.
Starting in February, staff from the collector’s office will help Hamlin enter census data and process paperwork.
Earlier this year, staffing issues prompted the collector’s office to cut back hours for two months, opening a half hour later and closing an hour early. This coincided with a seasonal lull in traffic, time usually set aside for input work and reconciliations, according to Sullivan.
South Hadley will vote for a number of elected positions and ballot questions in the April 10 annual town election, including a ballot question for a townwide ban on retail marijuana shops.
Residents must register at least 20 days before any town or state elections to be eligible to vote.
Sarah Robertson can be reached at srobertson@gazettenet.com