The Committee to Elect Cathy Harder-Bernier

Bill Cass, Chairman,

Daniel Bernier, Treasurer

Joe DeFerrari, Website Adminstrator

143 Maplewood Drive
Hanover, MA  02339

Email: cathyhb@comcast.net

Or use our contact form.

As Town Clerk, I like to connect with my fellow Hanoverians as much as possible. Check out our News page to see the latest.

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(See Cathy's most recent accomplishments as Town Clerk for the Town of Hanover, MA.)

Elections

• For the first time, election worker jobs were posted and made available for any registered voter in Hanover to apply for. Also for the first time, interviews were held
• Revised and adapted an Election Worker Training Manual from various sources (Towns of Falmouth, Randolph, etc.) and made it available both on-line and at the polls for election w orkers
• Ran two elections within the first four months of being in office, including a challenging space adaptation in the multi-purpose area and the commons due to double-booking of the gymnasium
• Held pre-election meetings with Registrar’s and Wardens to review responsibilities and plan for election day, especially because of the space constraints due to the location shift, but also in an effort to clarify roles and streamline processes
• Brought election processes closer in-line with state regulations
• Currently supervising a Hanover High School intern who is assisting with preparations for the Annual Town Election and creating a “Mock Election” experience for Hanover High School students that could increase actual voter turnout

Census

• Blank census forms were made available on-line for the first time for residents who needed another copy

Birth Records

• Birth certificates may now be requested electronically/by mail. This is especially useful for new parents who have trouble getting out of the house with a newborn, elderly people who don’t like to leave the house in poor weather, or for residents who don’t live locally anymore.

Death Records

• We made it possible to request certified copies of death records with a new on-line request form for the first time. ž
• Currently participating in training to learn the Commonwealth’s new electronic death record system so that burial permits will be available 24/7 to funeral homes around the state

Marriage Records

• Similar to birth and death records, we made it possible to request a certified copy of a marriage certificate with an on-line request form.

Business Certificates

• A new four page resource document regarding what a “Doing Business As” certificate is and who must file one is now posted on the town’s website and is also available in the office.
• The business certificate application was revised to include additional electronic contact information and to allow an out of state parent company (such as Old Navy or Verizon Wireless) to download a copy, have it notarized at a location convenient for them, and mail it in to the Town Clerk’s Office without having to appear in person.
• We are in the process of updating the business certificate card file system into an electronic database so that residents and other interested parties looking for information about a business can find it more easily

Town's Website

• Created and made information available on-line for the first time regarding:
  • Raffle permits
  • Gas permits
  • Street list and census
  • Town Charter
  • Birth, Marriage and Death records
  • Voter registration
  • Absentee ballots
  • Nomination papers
  • Campaign finance reports
• Agreed to maintain the “Community Calendar”, a new initiative that allows non-profit Hanover-based organizations to post their events on the Town of Hanover’s website

Office Updates

• We added the first ever Central Voter Registry (“state computer”) to the Town Clerk’s Office, thereby providing the office direct access to the Voter Registration Information System for the first time.
• We added a computer station to the Registrar’s Office for the first time.
• We added a third workstation to the Town Clerk’s Office, thereby allow ing interns and other volunteers to have computer access and capability.
• Dispensed with the 1970’s era typewriter and added the ability to prepare marriage licenses w ith a computer.
• Gratefully received donations of tw o new desks from a private citizen and a local furniture consignment company
• 30 (?) year old office carpet removed, non-allergenic floor tile installed, thanks to the DPW
• Discarded boxes and boxes of outdated files, papers, booklets, etc.

Open Meeting Law Compliance

• Revised standard open meeting posting procedure to bring the town into compliance with the Open Meeting Law
• Worked with town departments to streamline sending and receiving meeting notices to insure notices would be received in a timely but also convenient manner (i.e. school department, community preservation, etc. may now e-mail agendas)

Document Preservation

• Instituted some new standard practices to secure the town’s birth, marriage, death, election and census records that were being stored in the “cells” (former jail cells)
• Moved some of the town’s most precious and historic records from the damp and moldy dirt-floor basement to the cells
• Worked with Hanover resident and UM ass-Boston historian M aryann Brink to begin to catalog the records now stored in the cells
• Worked with a high school intern in the summer of 2013 to clean out and organize the documents stored in the cells
• On behalf of the Town of Hanover, and thanks to Maryann Brink, applied for a grant from the Massachusetts SHRAB Roving Archivist Program for archivist services, was denied, and instead pursued archivist services through the Commonwealth of Massachusetts’ Secretary of State’s Office
• Partnered with UMass Boston as they developed a concept proposal, jointly prepared by the History Department and the University Archives and Special Collections, for the University of Massachusetts Creative Economy grant. The Town of Hanover would serve as a pilot project location for graduate students, supervised by a professional archivist, who would document, preserve, interpret and make accessible our town’s historical documents
• Updated Town By-laws to reflect recent changes by town meeting, a role previously performed by the Planning Board Office

Cash Management

• Instituted several standard practices to keep cash inaccessible to the public
• Began daily “turnovers” of cash and checks so that money would not be left overnight
• Turned back petty cash to eliminate having “extra” money in the office
• In conjunction with the Finance Director, instituted individual receipts and ledger entries for each transaction, revised and streamlined revenue accounting codes, made plans for individual cash drawers

Dog Licenses

• For the first time and in an effort to be proactive, we placed a reminder in real estate tax bills regarding dog licenses.
• We enabled residents to apply for a dog license by filling out paperwork available on-line and mailing it in to the Town Clerk’s Office, thereby saving them the trouble of having to come in to Town Hall.
• Working on making it possible to pay for dog licenses on-line

Professional Development

• Represented Hanover at two statewide conferences of the Massachusetts Town Clerk’s Association, one in Falmouth and one in Sturbridge
• Attended educational seminars and other continuing education programs, thereby earning credits toward Certified Massachusetts Municipal Clerk and Certified Municipal Clerk status.
• Joined the “Tri-County Clerk’s Association” and participated in their fall training
• Attended a training session led by the Attorney General’s Office in Worcester regarding the submission of by-laws after a town meeting