Plymouth County Register of Deeds John R. Buckley, Jr., spoke to the TRIAD group in Halifax on Tuesday, showing how the Registry works and what services it can offer.  Ken Vinton introduced Buckley saying that it has taken two years to get him to the speaker’s platform – due to the restrictions of the pandemic – and he was happy that TRIAD could finally hear his presentation.

“We at the Registry of Deeds in Plymouth have land records that go back to 1685!”  All of our deeds and mortgages and other documents are indexed, scanned as an image, and you can pull up the deed, a mortgage, the document, and a picture of the document comes up as well as the indexing information,” Buckley told the group, “making it very easy to use our site.”  During the pandemic they were able to run their offices.  “We are a customer service operation.”

Replicas of historic deeds were displayed including those of Deborah Sampson, Massachusetts’ official state heroine, James J. Kilroy, of the iconic “Kilroy was Here”, who was a resident of Halifax, and  “Mickey” Cochrane of Bridgewater who was a baseball player, the only one from Bridgewater to be inducted into the Cooperstown Baseball Hall of Fame.  Buckley offered the services of his Information Systems Administrator Christine Richards to look up deeds for those present and make a copy for them to bring  home.

Buckley offered several tips on avoiding scams to do with your deed.   Buckley said that Plymouth County residents are being targeted by an overpriced “service” from the out-of-state company, National Record Service Incorporated of Illinois, offering consumers certified copies of deeds for a fee of  $59.50.   “This issue has also come up in the past with a Washington, D.C. based company.  This time the notice being sent to Plymouth County residents is even more troublesome in that it solicits credit card information from the consumer for the overpriced and generally unnecessary service.”  Buckley told the group he has reported the matter to the Attorney General Consumer Protection Division for review as well as placing an advisory on the Registry’s website.

Consumers can obtain a certified copy of their deed, typically one or two pages, directly from the Plymouth County Registry for a fee of $1 per page at any of its Plymouth, Rockland, or Brockton offices.  The Registry also accepts requests by mail, with a self-addressed envelope, a reference to the book and page where the deed is located and a fee of $3.  Buckley encouraged any who have questions to contact the Registry’s Customer Service Department at 508-830-9200.

Buckley also encouraged those in attendance to investigate and use the protection offered to homeowners through The Homestead Act, protecting people’s primary residences against forfeiture to outside creditors.  The limit for a single person’s ownership is $500,000.  There is an automatic protection of $125,000 for a home that does not declare a homestead exemption with the Registry of deeds.  While it may be sufficient to protect a deposit made on the estate, it is likely not sufficient to protect the full value of the home.

Another item homeowners should be aware of is the recording of the discharge of their mortgage.   Banks and finance companies are not required to record the discharge of a mortgage; while some may, it is the responsibility of the homeowner to do so.  The Registry of Deeds can help with this simple process that is often overlooked.

Patrolman Joe Cushman told the group to be sure to check on the visibility of their street numbers, as it can cost precious minutes just looking for the right address to respond to an emergency call.  He suggested residents who need street numbers to call the fire department and they can likely help.

Dot Martel told the group that Generations will be meeting Thursday, Nov. 11, at 10 a.m. at the Police Station on the second floor.

The Generations Christmas party will be held Dec. 1 at the Holy Apostles Parish, catered by The Hitching Post restaurant in Hanson.

Linda Redding
Special to the Express

On Oct. 5, the Halifax TRIAD held the first in-person meeting since the pandemic closed public appearances in March of 2020. TRIAD is a partnership between local and regional groups to help inform and educate senior cittizens.  Meetings take place the first Tuesday of the month at 10 a.m. and usually take place at the Halifax Police Station.

For the October meeting, participants gathered in the Great Room of the Halifax Town Hall to hear a presentation by Director Michael Mahoney and the education team of the Regional Old Colony Communication Center (ROCCC) where emergency calls from Halifax and Plympton are answered and dispatched.

Halifax TRIAD president Ken Vinton noted  that the location of the call center in Duxbury, questions on response time, and why the change of location took place are all areas of concern for the seniors.

The team from ROCCC responded to the concerns,  provided an overview of the center, and explained what happens when a 911 call is made.

According to Director Mahoney, the trend across the state is for towns to move away from public safety answering point at the town level and join together in regional 911 communication centers.  The State provides grant incentives for the latest technology and to help fund staff providing a cost savings to member towns. There are between seven to ten  dispatchers per shift every day all day and night on duty to answer calls.

Staff members go through rigorous training and frequent professional development. programs  Calls can come in from land lines, cell phones, and text.  For the 2022 Fiscal Year  ROCCC is receiving more than $2 million in grant funding.

ROCCC is the fastest growing regional communication center in Massachusetts.  It now serves more than 59,000 residents from the six member towns with room to grow to 100,000.  It was the first call center in Massachusetts to be able to receive text requests and was the first outside of Boston to take direct cell phone calls. In addition to Halifax and Plympton other member towns are Duxbury, Hanson, Hanover, and Rochester.

ROCCC recently moved into a new state-of-the-art communication center located at the Duxbury Fire Station. Prior the new center addition, ROCCC was located in the fire station attic.  Even though residents of Halifax and Plympton are calling a center located in Duxbury, within 13 seconds help is being dispatched after you dial 9-1-1.

First responders are still local and ready to respond.  Local police, fire, and EMS all serve on ROCCC committees.

When a 9-1-1 emergency call is made, the dispatcher will ask several questions and keep the caller on the line. The ROCCC team noted that even though you are being asked questions help has already been dispatched and is on the way.  The questions provide more information to help the first responders.   Be prepared to verify your location.  State the emergency you are reporting and whether or not it is happening now.  The dispatcher may offer instruction to provide medical help.  Always remain calm and only dial 9-1-1 for emergencies.

For more information on the Regional Old Colony Communication Center (ROCCC) visit them online at https://regionalcomms.wixsite.com/roccc911.