So much has been going on, and many changes have been and are continuing to be made. These changes have been taxing, but they are also creating new opportunities.

Neil Turton has joined my team as Deputy Town Clerk.  Neil has lived in Andover for about 15 years.  He and John Kinney have been landlords in town since 2001 and have restored the old Andover Meadow Inn.  Please give him a strong welcome.

The Town Offices are remaining closed to the public, which makes for many challenges.  My office continues to have normal business hours of 9 to 2 PM on Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday, and 1:30 to 6:30 PM on Tuesday.  We are also open the last Saturday of the month from 9 to 11 AM.

We are only open by appointment. Appointments are given for new registrations, registration transfers, and any other business that cannot be done online, by mail, or by using the Library Book Return Slot. This means we do not do appointments for registration renewals.

Appointments are not required for voter registration or for absentee applications and absentee voting. You can stop by anytime during our regular business hours.

The Town Clerk’s office is now receiving customers at our back door, on the Main Street side of the Town Hall building. This is for Town Clerk business only.  All other Town business should still use the main entrance, on the school side of the building.

Phone calls have increased greatly.  I have been getting 40 to 50 calls per day on both phone lines.  Please be patient waiting for a return call.  I am returning them in the order they are  received and doing so in between appointments and after hours.  With Neil now on board, things will get better. 

Speaking of phones, I have received many complaints that the voices of past employees are still on our phones.  We are aware of this, but unfortunately we have an antiquated phone system that requires a code to make those changes, and that code is long gone.  We are working to resolve this issue.

A new On-line Appointment Scheduler is being installed. I will have more information on how to use it in next month’s Beacon.  In the meantime, continue to give us a call.

During these challenging times remember to be kind, be courteous, and stay healthy.