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Canaan Cemetery Trustees set private July 1 meeting on hiring; consider trustee-controlled custodian role
Summary
Trustees voted to hold a non-public meeting July 1 with Public Works and the acting town administrator to discuss hiring and supervision of cemetery workers and reviewed drafts for a Memorandum of Understanding and a Cemetery Custodian job description that would report only to the Trustees.
Nancy Birkrem, Secretary of the Canaan Cemetery Trustees, moved on June 29 that the trustees hold a non-public meeting on July 1, 2026 with Bob Henry, Public Works Superintendent, and Jack Wozmak, Acting Town Administrator, to discuss hiring and supervision of cemetery workers. The motion passed unanimously.
Birkrem presented two draft documents to address what she described as a lack of control over how cemetery work is done: a proposed Memorandum of Understanding between the Public Works Superintendent, the Cemetery Trustees, and the Town Administrator clarifying expectations for the trustees’ share of a new full-time General Laborer and Groundskeeper; and a Cemetery Custodian job description written to be answerable only to the Trustees as specified in the Canaan Cemetery Ordinances (last approved 2019). Select Board representative Scott Johnston advised that Select Board approval was not required to create the position, but that the trustees were informed rehiring former custodian Barry Geddis would require a 30-day separation from town employment for him to retain his pension. The trustees agreed the two draft documents would be part of the July 1 discussion.
The trustees did not take further formal action on staffing at the June 29 meeting; the July 1 non-public meeting was scheduled to allow town officials and trustees to discuss responsibilities, hiring authority, and the proposed custodian role in more detail.
