Cemetery commission reports trust and revolving-account balances, tables expensive fence quotes

At its July 16 meeting, the cemetery commission reviewed account balances and budget allocations relevant to maintenance projects including the fence discussion at Mount Pleasant Cemetery.

The chair reported the Rockland Trust perpetual-care account balance at approximately $553,251 and said state law limits expenditure to interest earned on that principal. The commission’s investment portfolio (Fidelity) was cited at about $54,001.93, and the cemetery revolving account available balance was given as roughly $20,079.11.

Commission members discussed a treasurer recommendation to change the allocation of receipts between the cemetery revolving account and the lot sales account (a suggested shift from a 90%/10% split to an 80%/20% split for budget purposes). Commissioners noted that, because the perpetual-care principal cannot be spent, available operating funds for major projects are limited and that this constraint shaped the approach to the fence work: a full stockade replacement could produce a multi‑ten‑thousand‑dollar shortfall.

The chair also noted that the Board of Selectmen transferred $15,051 to cover tree-work invoices from the February storm, which eased that particular expense for the commission. Commissioners said web-hosting and data-entry for cemetery records (including tree images and grave indexing) are ongoing maintenance costs; the commission discussed entering older index cards into the database and updating maps to ease public searches.

No votes to reallocate funds or award contracts were taken. Commissioners said they would return to budget questions and any procurement decisions after an assessment of specific project costs and further consultation with the treasurer and counsel.