Cemetery committee pushes master plan toward final draft, asks finance department for revenue/expense spreadsheets

Committee members spent the bulk of their Nov. 6 meeting reviewing edits to a circulated cemetery master plan and pressing for clearer financial documentation tied to the plan.

Chair Jeff Walton walked members through the plan’s revision history and asked whether the committee preferred page‑by‑page review or targeted comments. Members requested a clean, no‑markup PDF for final proofreading and a spell check before the December 4 meeting. One member noted difficulty reading tracked changes in Word and asked staff to circulate a single clean copy.

Members also focused on funding sources cited in the draft. A committee member questioned whether the town finance committee or another body manages the perpetual cemetery care fund. Terry Ackerman, the select board liaison, clarified that the finance committee does not manage the fund; accounting responsibility resides with the town finance department and CFO. Staff said Bob (public‑works program manager) had been collecting information and that he and finance staff would provide reconciled spreadsheets or a brief 15‑minute presentation to the committee showing income streams, fees, expenses and the status of perpetual‑care and other cemetery accounts.

HSI, the consultant under contract, is doing survey and design work for possible cemetery expansion; staff told the committee they expect updated documents and cost estimates to share in early December. Committee members emphasized they need clear breakdowns of funding sources — including any proposed matching funds for CPC applications or town capital allocations — before approving the plan for presentation to town officials.

Next steps recorded in the meeting: staff will circulate a clean draft for review, the committee asked staff to request finance‑department spreadsheets or a short presentation for a future meeting, and the committee plans to reconvene on Dec. 4, 2024.