Select Board asks treasurer to locate trust‑fund documents after inquiries about cemetery wall repair
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Summary
The Select Board and finance committee asked the treasurer/collector to inventory roughly a dozen small trust funds, identify authorizing documents and balances, and report back within 30 days so the town can determine whether any funds could be used for specific repairs.
During the April 15 meeting, the Town of Lakeville’s treasurer/collector told the Select Board that the town holds roughly a dozen trust accounts in varying amounts and that the department has not yet located the underlying trust documents for many of them.
The issue arose during a separate conversation about a damaged cemetery retaining wall and whether a municipal trust could be used to fund repairs. The treasurer/collector said she can list current balances in Munis and search town document retention but that the legal terms of many trusts — including whether principal or only interest may be spent and whether a surviving trustee exists — will require review. “I have not found any trust documents. But I'd be curious to see how it was set up and, like, what and not just that 1, but any of them,” she said.
Select Board members asked the treasurer to assemble a list of trust fund balances and identify any documents and restrictions. The board discussed the prospect of seeking guidance from the Department of Local Services or the town’s auditors on whether small or missing‑document trusts can be transferred under a defined threshold into a special revenue or general fund; the treasurer/collector said she would research the practice and report back.
On timing, the treasurer/collector agreed to compile a list of balances and to attempt to locate trust documents within 30 days; she cautioned that in some cases legal review and possible town‑counsel involvement may be necessary to determine whether funds are expendable. “This might require town council to review the trust documents themselves to make a determination on who is authorized to say, yes, you can be — we’ll probably just like to see you live first,” she said.
Why this matters: small, sometimes decades‑old trust funds can include money dedicated to specific uses (for example, flowers for public islands or cemetery maintenance) but may carry spending restrictions. The board’s request is a step toward identifying whether any of those monies can be applied to urgent repairs or if legal constraints require alternate funding.
