Council approves small increase for cemetery commission to finish mapping, signage and stone restoration work

The Hooksett Town Council approved the cemetery commission's operating budget for fiscal year 2026'27 following a presentation from trustees about mapping and maintenance priorities.

Trustee representatives told the council they reduced recurring software subscriptions after town staff used a one-time GIS mapping effort to place cemetery records and that they are not renewing a historical cemetery-software subscription this year. Kathy McLean and trustees explained they have populated records into Excel and linked a GIS layer, and they have used volunteers to upload data into the Find a Grave public database.

The commission requested modest funds to finish GIS mapping for Head Cemetery and Riverside Cemetery, purchase small interpretive signs (phone number and QR code), and buy cleaning supplies (the D2 stone-cleaning product, roughly $50 per gallon). Trustees also noted prior contracted stone-straightening work has been executed largely from a capital reserve, and they are not asking for large capital funding this budget cycle.

Councilors asked about public access to maps; trustees responded that town GIS currently exposes assessing maps publicly and that the commission will explore options to make cemetery data (lot numbers and locations) available when they are confident in the data quality.

A motion to approve the commission's budget passed on roll call.

Councilors and trustees flagged that the cemetery budget is small compared with major town services and that work remains to catalogue older records currently archived in the town library and historical society.