Vermont senators hear mixed views on S.275 to fund cemetery vandalism repairs

The Senate Committee on Government Operations heard testimony Feb. 20 on S.275, a bill to establish a cemetery vandalism response fund to pay for repairs at historic and inactive cemeteries. Sponsor Senator Weeks introduced witnesses from cemetery and funeral-industry groups who disagreed over who should collect and hold the money and whether a $5 burial-permit fee should be redirected to the proposed fund.

Lawrence Davignon, a licensed funeral director and Randolph cemetery superintendent, asked the committee to use existing death-certificate and burial-permit procedures to capture the $5 fee and warned that some interments or scattering of cremated remains may not create an obvious point of collection. "Sometimes people bury cremated remains on their own property," Davignon said, noting that off-record dispositions complicate tracking and collection.

Funeral director Michelle Togel, who runs Vermont Forest Cemetery, said she supports preserving cemeteries but worries a fee would be passed to funeral consumers and could be regressive for people choosing cremation or those with limited means. "I'm concerned about passing this cost on to funeral consumers," Togel said, adding that many active cemeteries already set aside 20% of lot-sale revenue for perpetual care and typically carry insurance that may cover monument damage.

Christopher Book, a longtime funeral director who described himself as treasurer of the Bronx Cemetery Association, told the committee the $5 burial-permit charge already exists in statute and historically went to the official who signs the burial permit. "That $5 fee is already in statute," Book said, explaining that changes in 1999 altered how permits are filed online and who signs them, and that collection is uneven in practice. He urged that, if the legislature proceeds, the fee be redirected into a central fund and that the Vermont Old Cemetery Association (VOCA) should assess damage but not be the fiduciary holder of the money.

Tom Gibson, president of the Vermont Old Cemetery Association, described repeated work in cemeteries with no operating revenue and said many historic sites lack the income to self-fund repairs. "I don't think there's a cemetery in the state that does not have, unfortunately, some part of it that have been knocked over over the years," Gibson said, urging a state-managed mechanism to allocate money to locations with no perpetual-care funds.

Committee members pressed witnesses on administrative details: whether town clerks or funeral directors should collect the fee, how to distinguish vandalism from damage by natural causes and which state office would hold and disburse funds. Witnesses recommended consulting municipal clerks to assess administrative burden and suggested the statute tie collection to death-certificate or burial-permit issuance so tracking is possible. The chair said he would confer with Senator Weeks and consider drafting targeted amendments.

No formal motion or vote on S.275 was recorded in the hearing. The committee asked for additional input from municipal clerks and the sponsor before deciding whether to advance the bill.