Cemetery Commission

Duties

The Waitsfield Cemetery Commission was formed pursuant to 18 V.S.A. § 5374. The Commission is responsible for the care and management of the Waitsfield's cemeteries, which includes the following tasks:

• The cemetery commission may grant and/or convey by deed lots in the cemetery and may make regulations governing the sale, price, and care of the lots. 18 V.S.A. §§ 5376, 5377.
• Cemetery commissioners may set aside a portion of the cemetery for the burial of indigent persons, and may make regulations for the use of this special area. 18 V.S.A. § 5375.
• Cemetery commissioners may maintain the public cemeteries and hire someone to perform this work. The expenses, not to exceed $500 per year of town funds, may be paid by the commissioners drawing orders on the town treasurer. 18 V.S.A. § 5362.
• Cemetery commissioners may grant a temporary right-of-way over private land to reach a graveyard to which there is no public right-of-way. 18 V.S.A. § 5322.
• Cemetery commissioners must keep in repair the fence around a public burial ground. 18 V.S.A. § 5364.
• Cemetery commissioners must submit an annual report to the town auditors, including a detailed financial statement, a listing of the work of the commissioners, and the condition and needs of the cemetery. 18 V.S.A. §§ 5379, 5380.
• The cemetery commissioners (and not the selectboard) may appoint individuals to fill vacancies on the board until the next annual meeting, even if a majority of the positions on the commission are vacant. 18 V.S.A. § 5374.
• A cemetery commissioner may be fined $400 for failure to keep a fence in repair after written notification of its disrepair, and may be fined $200 for the willful neglect of his or her duties. 18 V.S.A. §§ 5363, 5364.