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Cemetery trustees revert to original fee structure effective May 1, 2026
Summary
The Cemetery Trustees voted unanimously to restore the original fee schedule — charging per hole rather than per person — effective May 1, 2026 after debate about digging practices and cremains-size variability.
The Cemetery Trustees voted unanimously July 6 to revert to the cemetery’s original fee structure, effective May 1, 2026, restoring charges assessed per hole rather than per person. Chair Lynne A. Murray made the motion, and Secretary Nancy Birkrem seconded.
Trustees said the change follows discussion about past practice in which the person doing the digging had discretion to charge extra for digging for two people. The minutes note that digging for cremains is done by hand and that required hole sizes vary — “about 18"x18"x18" to 28"x28"x28" (or potentially larger for irregularly sized containers)” — which influenced the decision to keep fees tied to a single hole rather than the number of interments.
The vote to approve the reversion was unanimous. The decision was recorded as Motion 56 during the meeting held at the Mascoma Senior Center.
Background: Trustees had earlier discussed the issue at the June 17 meeting and agreed to revisit it. The minutes say a temporary solution was in place pending this fuller discussion. No additional changes to operational procedures were recorded in the minutes alongside the vote.
Next steps: The minutes do not specify immediate operational steps for implementing the fee change (for example, updated fee tables or public notice), only the effective date of May 1, 2026.
