Veterans Committee backs order for annual report on city cemeteries, requests spending rules and tracking

Marlborough City’s Veterans Committee voted to recommend approval of Order No. 25-109345 on Jan. 13, 2025, directing the mayor to submit an annual report on the condition, needs and finances of city-owned cemeteries, including a specific inventory of veterans’ gravestones and plans for repairs and maintenance.

The committee said the report should be delivered to the City Council by April 1 each year and include the state of good repair for veterans’ gravestones, what work was completed in the prior fiscal year, planned work for the next fiscal year, and a financial accounting including perpetual care trust fund balances and interest usage. The motion to recommend approval passed unanimously at the committee meeting after members added language asking the administration to produce written guidelines for spending perpetual care funds and to track applications and replacements of veterans’ markers through the VA program.

Commissioner Scott, who oversees the Department of Public Works (DPW) Forestry, Parks and Cemeteries division, told the committee the division combines forestry, parks and cemetery services under a single budget and foreman. “There is no cemetery budget,” Commissioner Scott said, explaining the roughly $2,000,000 division-level budget covers all three functions and that cemetery work is staffed out of that pool. He said the division employs 19 personnel, with three assigned specifically to cemeteries and four current vacancies, one of which is a cemetery position. Scott said the department uses cross-training and temporary reassignments from parks when needed for seasonal peaks and funerals.

Director Hennessy, the veterans agent, described the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) headstone replacement process and how the city and VA coordinate installations. Hennessy said when the VA approves a replacement, the stone is shipped to a location the veterans agent designates and the DPW installs it. “If it’s broken, the government will fix it,” Hennessy said, describing the VA-issued white marble headstones and the agency’s standard replacement program. He also recommended pursuing historical-preservation grants for older, non-VA-eligible stones, saying the VA program is “very, very stringent” and often difficult to access for older historic markers.

Committee members and staff discussed the perpetual care trust fund, which Commissioner Scott said holds approximately $700,000 and takes in roughly $32,000 a year, with interest credited separately at about $25,000 per year. Scott said the trust principal is rarely used except for major restorations, while the interest account is used each year for operating needs. Council members urged the creation of clear, written spending guidelines for the perpetual care funds and suggested involving the city auditor in setting those guidelines.

The committee also discussed operational details: Evergreen Cemetery is the only cemetery in which new graves are sold; Maplewood and Rocklawn are maintained but have limited or no sellable lots. Commissioner Scott described the on-site cemetery office, how graves are opened and closed, and the department’s approach to selling lots (single, double and quad configurations), noting the department manages layout and accessibility constraints when assigning plots. He said plot sales are split between a sale portion and a perpetual-care portion, and cremation spaces are priced on a different schedule.

Volunteers and the Marlborough Historical Society played a recurring role in cemetery work. Committee members and Director Hennessy cited volunteer projects that reset sunken stones and perform small restorations; the committee agreed staff will complete a citywide audit of veteran headstones and other historic markers in the coming spring so the DPW and veterans office have a shared inventory. The committee asked that the report include the status of existing VA replacement applications and a simple tracking system (for example, a shared spreadsheet) for stones sent to the VA or awaiting restoration.

The committee added an amendment asking staff to identify additional funding sources—historical grants and private donations were discussed—and to report on the VA program’s effectiveness and turnaround times for replacement markers. Members emphasized documenting work completed by volunteers or outside groups in the yearly report so the council can see what the city itself has funded or performed.

The Veterans Committee made the recommendation to approve Order No. 25-109345 with the described amendments in a voice vote; the motion carried and the committee adjourned at about 7:47 p.m.

The committee’s next step is to send the recommended order to the mayor and to begin the audit and tracking work so staff can provide an initial report by the April 1 deadline specified in the order.