Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Cemetery Fees topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Canaan trustees approve cemetery fee increases effective May 1
Summary
The Canaan Cemetery Trustees voted Feb. 9 to raise plot and interment fees, setting a 4'×10' burial plot at $500 and increasing full-burial and cremation service charges; the changes take effect May 1, 2026 and require a Select Board public hearing.
The Canaan Cemetery Trustees voted Feb. 9 to raise several cemetery fees, setting the price for a standard 4-foot-by-10-foot burial plot at $500 and increasing interment charges, with the changes to take effect May 1, 2026.
Nancy Birkrem, secretary and Cemetery Trustee, moved that the trustees propose a $500 price for a 4'×10' burial plot beginning May 1, 2026; Lynne Murray, chair, seconded. The motion passed unanimously. The trustees also approved higher digging fees for full burials and raised cremation interment rates as part of the same package. Scott Johnston, the Select Board representative, successfully moved an amendment to refer to "weekends and holidays" rather than a single day.
The trustees said their current rate schedule dates to 1997 and reviewed fees in nearby towns, which were sometimes three to four times Canaan's current rates. Trustees noted that lot sales fund perpetual maintenance and that plot size (4'×10') accommodates the state-required burial vault while allowing placement of a headstone. The trustees agreed to keep weekend and holiday burials available for family needs despite higher labor costs.
Specifically, the board approved: a $500 price for a 4'×10' burial plot; an increase in full-burial digging fees; and higher cremation interment fees. Each motion was recorded and passed unanimously at the Feb. 9 meeting and will be proposed to the Select Board. A public hearing before the Select Board is required before rates are finalized; Scott Johnston recommended aiming for the board's March 3 meeting for that hearing.
Trustees also discussed including the nominal cost of low-profile metal plot markers in the plot price and allowing families to purchase grave markers (stones) at market value with town installation. The trustees approved a separate motion that families pay for granite cornerstones and that the town install four corner markers at a cost of $100 per lot.
The trustees did not finalize rules on scattering ashes or green (hybrid/organic) burials during the meeting; those topics, along with the required Select Board public hearing, will be addressed at future meetings.
