Voters, including Police Chief Rick DiPersio vote during Town Meeting.
By Laura Hayes, Contributing Writer
HUDSON — Hudson is raising how much it costs door-to-door solicitors and canvassers to register with the town.
On the warrant for the town’s May 1 Town Meeting was an article to increase the application fee to $100 to get either an individual registration card or to re-register. Voters in attendance approved the item after some questioned whether it could go even further to curtail solicitation in town.
“By increasing that fee, we hope it will limit it to businesses that are legitimate,” Police Chief Richard DiPersio told the Community Advocate before the vote.
According to DiPersio, the previous fee was $20. With that fee, some businesses would get multiple permits, and the department would receive complaints from town residents.
“It may be for businesses that are not doing it for legitimate purposes or intentions,” DiPersio said.
Hudson issued approximately 50 permits between 2017 and 2019, according to data provided to the Community Advocate by DiPersio. Sixteen permits were issued in 2019, the most recent year for which data was provided. Twenty-five permits were issued in 2018, while eight were issued in 2017.
To receive a permit, DiPersio said a solicitor fills out an application and pays the application fee. Once that fee is paid, they’re issued a permit for a specific period of time.
This article was supported by the Select Board in February.
At the time, Executive Assistant Tom Moses commented that it made a lot of sense.
“Nobody really appreciates door-to-door solicitation, and the [entry fee] makes it very easy,” Moses said.
