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Committee confronts complex perpetual‑care accounting for town cemeteries
Summary
Members reviewed multiple perpetual‑care funds and agreed counsel/DRA/AG consultation is needed to determine what interest or principal can lawfully be used for cemetery repairs; merging and past withdrawals were flagged as complicating factors.
Committee members raised long‑standing confusion about perpetual‑care funds for town cemeteries and the rules governing withdrawals. S1 said there are three perpetual‑care funds and two related cemetery improvement CRFs that were combined by a 2025 warrant article; she said the statutory language limits use of principal and that counsel or the Attorney General’s office must clarify allowable withdrawals and prorating across individual plots.
“We never figure out how to prorate it… because they're listed separately,” S1 said, noting that prior withdrawals and recent merges left small balances in some accounts. Members agreed the select board and trustees of trust funds will need to be consulted and that it may take several months to resolve whether petitioned warrant language or regular warrant articles are appropriate.
