By Wiley Wood

If you’re making garbage in Norfolk, or planning to cool off in Tobey Pond this summer, or if you own a dog, then chances are you will be making a pilgrimage to the town clerk’s office, checkbook in hand, some time this month.

“Cash or check,” says Town Clerk Linda Perkins. “We don’t take credit cards.”

The season for buying new stickers and permits starts June 1. Perkins politely but firmly turns away anyone trying to jump the gun in May.

The first and last weeks of June are particularly hectic at the town clerk’s office. “I never get to sit down!” says Perkins. Still, she values the opportunity to catch up with residents who otherwise visit Town Hall infrequently. “It’s lovely,” she says.

Town Clerk Linda Perkins, right, will process permits in person or by mail.

Starting July 1, residents bringing trash to the transfer station must have the 2017–18 sticker attached to their windshields on the passenger side. Stickers cost $55 this year, a $10 increase over last year. But stickers for additional vehicles in the same household cost only $35, a new feature.

The town beach at Tobey Pond begins its summer schedule on June 22, the last day of Botelle School. The beach will be open every day through the summer from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. , weather permitting, and residents with a valid sticker may park in the Tobey Pond lot. The stickers will cost $50 per vehicle, discounted to $35 for residents over 65.

“Some residents complain that they have to pay extra to use the transfer station or the parking lot at Tobey Pond,” says Perkins. “They ask, ‘Why shouldn’t it be covered by our taxes?’”

First Selectman Sue Dyer explains that neither the transfer station nor the town beach at Tobey Pond pay for themselves through the sale of permits. In fact, the bulk of both programs are paid for by taxpayers as a whole, with sticker holders contributing about a third of the cost.

Transportation and tipping fees to run the transfer station are budgeted at $132,650 this year. Last year’s revenues from the sale of stickers and bulky waste tickets came to $36,000 and $21,000 respectively.

Tobey Pond is budgeted at $45,525, most of it going to lifeguard salaries. The town raised only $13,000 last year from the sale of Tobey stickers.

If you own one or more of the town’s 270 dogs, you have probably already received a notice to renew your dog’s licence and to make sure that its rabies vaccination is current. There is a $1 per month penalty for late registration.

All of these permits can be renewed by mail. Application forms are available online at the town’s website. You can also obtain copies by calling Town Clerk Perkins at 860-542-5679.