Select Board votes to terminate Pleasant View Cemetery Association’s management and direct turnover of funds

After a lengthy review of Pleasant View Cemetery’s finances and governance, the Morristown Select Board voted unanimously on Feb. 18 to terminate the Pleasant View Cemetery Association’s fiscal and operational management and to require the association to turn over all cemetery funds and assets to the town by Friday, Feb. 21, 2025.

Administration presented a detailed summary of concerns including large withdrawals from the endowment/perpetual care fund (the presentation cited a Sept. 2021 fund value of $364,990.785 and noted the fund had fallen below the investment policy floor), contracts awarded without competitive bidding, and co-mingling of funds that had been designated for specific memorial projects. The board said the practice of making repeated no-bid awards and depleting principal threatened the fund’s viability.

The board moved to assume management to preserve fiduciary integrity of town-owned cemetery land and endowment funds. Two motions carried unanimously: termination of the association’s management and a direction that all Pleasant View Cemetery funds and assets be turned over to the town by Feb. 21, 2025. Administration said it has attempted negotiations and received a written response from the association expressing a wish to continue maintaining the cemetery, but the board concluded the town must take immediate fiscal stewardship steps.

Administration said next steps include inventorying assets, reviewing accounts (including recently discovered Edward Jones sub-accounts), and determining whether contracts or equipment sales could offset near-term expenses. The board emphasized respect for the association’s past stewardship of the cemetery landscape while stressing that fiscal responsibility requires town oversight going forward.