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Old 12-17-2010, 05:52 AM   #1
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Ma Fish & Wildlife town license issue/State $ grab

Town license issuing to end?
State wants fish, game fees


By George Barnes TELEGRAM & GAZETTE STAFF
gbarnes@telegram.com





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Changes that the Massachusetts Department of Fish and Game is planning for licensing could compel some town clerks to stop issuing hunting and fishing licenses, which some say is a public service but a money-loser for their offices.

The state plans to begin extracting payments for licenses directly from town accounts next year, as well as requiring that the work be done online by clerks, or possibly by applicants at a dedicated computer. The state had planned to make the change Jan. 1, but now will phase it in, town by town, before the end of next year.

How the system will work is still being developed, according to Catherine Williams, a spokesman for the state Department of Fish and Game. The changes are to help save the state money and make the process more efficient, she said.

“I think when it was going to be Jan. 1, there were a lot of clerks going to say they would not be issuing them,” said Orange Town Clerk Nancy Blackmer, second vice president of the Massachusetts Town Clerks Association.

Treasurers and town accountants are concerned about giving the state access to their accounts, said Ms. Blackmer. Typically, receipts from licenses and other fees are entered by towns into accounts. Selectmen then vote to allow payment for the fees to be made to the state. The new system would take the money directly.

The most recent figures show $5.3 million in revenue for the state from the sale of 234,127 fish and game licenses from July 1, 2008, to June 30, 2009.

Ms. Blackmer said she believes that if the payment issue can be worked out, electronic filing will make work easier for town clerks.

For now, local clerks have their books of licenses and most plan to continue issuing licenses, at least until the changes are made.

Oxford Town Clerk Lori Kelley said she had to notify the state last July if she planned to continue issuing licenses for 2011. She said she agreed, but that will change when the new system takes effect.

“I will not give third-party vendors access to the office checking account,” she said.

The state plans to withdraw the money for licenses weekly, and that poses a problem as well, Ms. Kelley said. If the state withdraws the money after a license is issued and the license applicant’s check bounces, it will be difficult for her office to recover the money.

In Shrewsbury, Harvard and Westminster, the selling of licenses will also end unless the payment issue is solved.

“The treasurer would not approve it,” said Harvard Town Clerk Janet Vellante.

Loss of the license money would not be much for the town, said Ms. Vellante. Harvard only made $50 last year, she said.

Fees to consumers vary, depending on the license. The fee, less 50 cents per license for towns and cities that issue them, is sent to the state. If the license is bought from a town clerk, the consumer pays the fee plus $1 for processing, allowing towns to receive $1.50 per license.

If a license is bought from a retailer, the entire fee goes to the state. The store doesn’t get to keep 50 cents per license but is permitted to charge the fee plus up to $1.50 more.

Only the license fee is charged at the Massachusetts Fisheries and Wildlife headquarters in Westboro and the Central District headquarters in West Boylston.

The state expects to lose some town clerks from its list of sales outlets and expects to gain some back later. If a town clerk opts out, sportsmen and women have three choices: sign up for a license online, go to a private retail outlet or seek a license at a Fish and Game office, said Ms. Williams.

Barre Town Clerk Ellen Glidden is uncertain what her office will do when the switch to electronic filing is made. She’d like to hear more about the plan’s specifics.

“Will we be required to print out the licenses ourselves?” she wondered, adding that would be an extra cost to her office.

When it was first announced that the change would be implemented Jan. 1, Ms. Glidden said she had decided not to issue licenses beyond the end of the year. When the state backed off from that deadline, she decided to continue issuing the licenses until the change was made, then decide if she would continue.

Citizens over 70 and paraplegics receive free licenses. Town clerks don’t get compensated for issuing those licenses, but senior citizens feel more comfortable getting their licenses at town hall, said Westminster Town Clerk Denise MacAloney.

If getting licenses becomes a problem for those for whom they are free, they might not get them, said Barre’s Ms. Glidden.

Gardner is opting out ahead of the change. City Clerk Alan L. Agnelli said it is not the changes driving the decision but that his office already has too much to do, especially with burden of the new state Open Meeting Law. And Mr. Agnelli said he does not see the need to compete with local businesses.

John’s Sport Shop, not far away on Main Street, sells licenses, as does Walmart on Timpany Boulevard.

In Central Massachusetts, 10 Walmarts sell licenses, including the Gardner store and stores in Hudson, Leicester, Leominster, North Oxford, Northboro, Orange, Sturbridge, Ware, West Boylston and Whitinsville. Kmarts in Fitchburg and Milford and Klem’s Tractor Inc. in Spencer also sell licenses.

Sporting goods stores selling licenses include #^&#^&#^&#^&’s Sporting Goods in Leominster and Millbury, D. & G. Bait and Tackle in Cherry Valley, Flagg’s Flies and Tackle in Orange and Webster Lake Sporting in Webster. Also, Orange Auto Body in Orange, Park Avenue True Value Store in Worcester and the Gun Owners Action League of Northboro sell licenses.



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Old 12-17-2010, 06:58 AM   #2
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thanks for the heads up
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Old 12-17-2010, 07:36 AM   #3
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I always get mine online anyways.....soooo much easier...one of the few things the state does right.

"If you're arguing with an idiot, make sure he isn't doing the same thing."
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