Finance Committee members pressed staff this week for clearer records and spending rules for several cemetery accounts after the city’s finance director reported holdings at Bar Harbor Wealth Management and TD Bank.

Nate, the city’s finance lead, told the committee the Higgins Trust is listed at Bar Harbor and should be “right around $480,000.” He said the accounts have been accumulating interest but that he could not find written guidance in the city charter or policies specifying allowable uses; he said interest was likely intended for maintenance such as mowing, but written authorization is not on file. Nate said one Juniper Cemetery account at TD Bank currently shows a $0 perpetual fund balance and that he will visit the TD branch in person to resolve signer access and balances.

Council members and the cemetery commission asked staff to confirm which accounts are restricted and who is authorized to disperse funds. A public commenter who had reviewed the Juniper records said bank staff showed two accounts (checking and savings) and that the savings account may have been rolled into the checking account to avoid escheatment to the state treasurer; the commenter could not recall the exact balance.

Committee members asked the finance team to bring account statements and any documentation of donor intent or trust terms to the cemetery commission meeting scheduled for Thursday and to report back to the committee. The finance director said she would attempt to move accounts away from TD Bank before that branch closes locally and would provide the committee with account histories, signatory status, and recommendations for where to hold restricted funds.

The committee did not adopt a policy at the meeting; members agreed to have the cemetery commission review the records, and for finance staff to return with clarifying documents and possible policy language defining allowable uses of trust interest and procedures for dispersal.