Coventry commission reviews past accounting errors and moves to add burial-fee revenue line

At its May 21 meeting the Coventry Cemetery Commission heard a financial update in which staff reported errors in past tracking of cemetery fund balances and outlined steps to improve oversight.

Stacy, a staff member who prepared the updated reports, said she recalculated fund balances going back to when Amanda served as finance director and is confident in the recent reports provided to the commission. The minutes say mistakes had been made in tracking pooled-account balances in prior years and that the balance is maintained on a spreadsheet.

Chair Kevin Arpin said he will continue to track major cemetery-account expenses. Separately, Public Works Director William Watkins told the commission that staff are working with finance to add a dedicated revenue line for burial fees; under the proposed approach all burial receipts would be deposited to the town and the town would pay any vendors related to interments.

The commission did not record a formal vote on a policy change at the meeting; members instructed staff to pursue the accounting and revenue-line adjustments and to return with any items requiring formal action.