§ 289:7 — Powers and Duties

I. Except in those municipalities in which other provisions have been made by a general or special act of the legislature, all cemetery trustees in the state shall:
(a) Adopt bylaws and regulations for their transaction of business and for the establishment and management of all municipal cemeteries within their responsibility.
(b) Prepare an annual budget indicating what support and maintenance of the municipal public cemeteries will be required out of public funds for submission to the appropriate agency of the municipality. A separate budget request shall be submitted for planning and establishment of a new public cemetery and for capital improvements or expansion of an existing public cemetery.
(c) Expend all moneys raised and appropriated by the municipality for cemetery purposes. Such funds shall be maintained in the general fund and paid in the same manner that funds of other municipal departments are paid.
(d) Expend income from all trust funds for cemetery purposes in accordance with the conditions of each donation or bequest accepted by the municipality. Such trust funds shall be held in the custody and under the management of the trustees of trust funds. The trust income shall be transferred to the cemetery trustees by the trustees of trust funds in response to vouchers executed by the cemetery trustees, if the requested funds are available. Such trust fund income shall not be commingled with the moneys raised and appropriated by the municipality.
(e) Prepare deeds of cemetery lots for the governing body to sign.
II. Cemetery trustees may appoint a cemetery custodian or sexton who shall not be a trustee and who shall be responsible to the cemetery trustees for supervising work done in the cemeteries.

Legislative History

1994, 318:2. 1995, 62:3, eff. July 8, 1995.