Town Clerk 2004 Annual Report

                              REPORT OF THE TOWN CLERK

   To the Honorable Board of Selectmen and Residents of the Town of
Abington: I herewith submit the annual report of the Town Clerk for the
year 2004.

   As is the case every year, the office was very busy in the early part of
the year with census, the issuing of dog licenses, issuing nomination
papers and preparing for the year's election schedule.   In addition to
the Annual Town Meeting and Annual Town Election, there were also
three special town meetings, one special election, Presidential and
State Primaries and the State/Presidential Election held on November
2nd.

   The office was faced with staffing changes due to the retirement of
Chief Clerk Patricia Meroth on January 5, 2004 and the announcement
of the Town Clerk Patricia A. McKenna's retirement on January 23, 2004.
On February 19th Sandra Tracy joined the staff as the new Chief Clerk
and unfortunately due to illness has had a limited schedule. On May
18th, Jodie Hurst, temporarily took over the Chief Clerk's position and
on May 24th, Leanne Kelly joined the staff as our new part time
assistant to the registrars. It is my pleasure to have such a supportive
staff and I wish to thank them for their help.

   The codification of the General and Zoning Bylaws, Town Charter,
and the Rules and Regulations of the Planning Board has been
completed, but we do need to reprint some sections due to the
enactment of our new Town Charter on August 9, 2004.

   The Town Clerk's Office turned over to the Town Treasurer the sum
of $37.244.08 for fees collected during this fiscal year. Included in this
sum was $949.43 for UCC filings, $10,350.00 for dog and kennel licenses
and $162.25 for the processing of Fish and Game licenses. The Town
submitted $4414.00 to the Division of Fisheries and Wildlife for licenses
purchased.

   The Town Clerk attended meetings about new Massachusetts laws
and attended one conference of the Massachusetts Town Clerks'
Association. These meetings and conferences are important to new
clerks such as myself. I gathered valuable information and earned so
much from other clerks that I look forward to the next conference.

   I would like to thank Jean Pechilis and the late Gloria Casey for their
help with the opening of census and the counting of ballots to be used
at the polls. They came to us through the Senior Tax Rebate Program,
which this office has used since 1997. I appreciate the help and
assistance of our Board of Registrars, Ruth Libby, Meredith Turcotte,
and Helen Kennedy. Also, thank you to Jackie Ranous, who has helped
this office after elections on many occasions. I would like to thank the
Highway, Police, Park, Sewer and School Departments for their
cooperation throughout the year and especially at election time

Respectfully submitted,

Linda C. Adams
Town Clerk