[HISTORY: Adopted by the Town of Camden 6-8-1999; amended 7-14-2020. Subsequent amendments noted where applicable.]
Consistent with the historical relationship between the Camden
Cemetery Association and the Town of Camden, this chapter is enacted
to reflect contemporary considerations for the Town's cemeteries and
in accordance with the Home Rule Authority of the Town.
This chapter is enacted pursuant to the Home Rule Authority
granted to the Town in accordance with the provisions of Title 30-A
M.R.S.A. § 3001 and Title 13 M.R.S.A. § 1373.
There are three public cemeteries in the Town of Camden: Mountain
View Cemetery, Oak Hill Cemetery South, and Oak Hill Cemetery North.
The purpose of the Cemetery Association shall be to provide the inhabitants
of the Town of Camden, inhabitants of surrounding towns and communities,
and families and individuals who may contract with the Town of Camden
from time to time for the burial and interment of human bodies and
for other services and facilities normally associated with a public
cemetery, including any future cemeteries in the Town.
The governing body of the Cemetery Association shall be the
Board of Trustees.
A. The initial Board of Trustees shall be the Board of Trustees of the
Camden Cemetery Association, which is in office as of the date of
the Town Meeting at which this chapter is enacted.
B. The initial Board of Trustees shall consist of seven members with
staggered terms as follows: Three members shall serve a three-year
term, commencing on July 1 of each beginning term; and two members
shall serve a two-year term, commencing on July 1 of each beginning
term and expiring on June 30 of each ending term; and two members
shall serve a one-year term, commencing on July 1 of each beginning
term and expiring on June 30 of each ending term.
C. Following the establishment of the Board of Trustees, vacancies in
the Board of Trustees by expiration of term of office or otherwise
shall be filled by appointment by the Board of Selectmen of a person
to fill each such vacancy as the vacancy occurs. The Town of Camden
Deputy Finance Director, or Finance Director in the absence of the
Deputy Finance Director, will be an ex officio member of the Board
of Trustees.
D. Each new appointee shall assume office, and that appointee's term
of office shall commence as of the date of appointment by the Board
of Selectmen.
The Board of Trustees shall elect a Chairperson and a Vice Chairperson.
The Deputy Finance Director, or the Finance Director in the absence
of the Deputy Finance Director, shall serve as the recording secretary.
The foregoing officials shall be the officers of the Board of Trustees
and shall serve in that capacity for a term of one year, or until
his or her successor shall be elected by a subsequent Board of Trustees.
Meetings of the Board of Trustees shall be held at such times
as the Board may determine. Special meetings of the Board of Trustees
may be called by the Chairperson or, in the case of the disability
or absence of the Chairperson, by the Vice Chairperson, upon notice
to each Board member as well as to the public of each such special
meeting, no less than three days prior to each special meeting. All
meetings of the Board of Trustees, with the exception of executive
sessions permitted by law, shall be public meetings and the public
shall be permitted to attend.
The Board of Trustees shall have the power, authority, and duty
to manage and to control the public cemeteries in all things connected
with those cemeteries, including the authority to:
A. Engage the services of independent contractors and companies for
maintenance, care, and preservation of the cemetery grounds and all
cemetery facilities;
B. Coordinate and monitor the hiring and supervision of employees of
the Town providing work and services for the maintenance, care, and
preservation of the cemetery grounds and all cemetery facilities;
C. Accept gifts and endowments for the use of the Cemetery Association
in the operation, maintenance and preservation of the public cemeteries,
subject to the requirement that the acceptance of all such gifts and
endowments shall be confirmed by the Board of Selectmen of the Town;
D. Purchase and arrange for the purchase of all materials, equipment,
and supplies for the operation, maintenance, and preservation of the
public cemeteries;
E. Direct the expenditure of cemetery association funds;
F. Direct the investment of Cemetery Association funds, in consultation with the Board of Selectmen of the Town and in accordance with the provisions of §
40-11 of this chapter;
G. Establish bylaws and regulations for the operation and management
of the public cemeteries, and for the use of those facilities by the
inhabitants of the Town and by inhabitants of other towns and communities;
and
H. Engage in all functions and perform all duties required for the operation,
maintenance, management, and preservation of the Mountain View Cemetery,
the Oak Hill Cemetery South and North, and any other public cemeteries
of the Town of Camden.
The appointment of the Sexton will be confirmed by the Board
of Trustees; the Sexton will report to the Board of Trustees at its
scheduled meetings for direction of any necessary, needed duties to
be performed relating to the position of the Sexton; however, the
Town Manager of the Town shall be the supervisor of the Sexton. The
Sexton will follow the personnel policy practices adopted by the Town.
Among other duties assigned to the Sexton, the Sexton shall be responsible
for the location of grave sites and coordinating grave openings and
closings.
The Town Finance Director shall serve as a financial assistant
to the Board of Trustees for the purpose of providing monthly financial
information on Cemetery Association revenues and expenses.
A. All funds that have been donated to the Town of Camden or to the
Cemetery Association for the use of the Mountain View Cemetery, the
Oak Hill Cemeteries, or any other public cemetery in the Town, and
all cemetery revenues, shall be held in the name of the Cemetery Association.
The Board of Trustees shall be involved with the investment and management
of all such Cemetery Association funds or funds resulting from donations
to the Town for cemetery purposes.
B. With the concurrence of the Board of Selectmen, the Board of Trustees
shall make decisions concerning the investment of Cemetery Association
funds and Town funds.
C. As directed by the Board of Selectmen, in consultation with the Cemetery
Association, the Treasurer of the Town shall invest Cemetery Association
funds in accordance with the provisions of Title 30-A M.R.S.A. § 5706.
Cemetery Association trust funds and funds donated to the Town for
cemetery purposes may be pooled with other Town trust funds for investment
purposes, as directed by the Board of Selectmen. In the event that
such funds are pooled with other Town trust funds, the interest and
income earned on those funds shall be segregated from other income,
and such interest and income shall be used exclusively for the purposes
of the public cemeteries of the Town. In the event that any instruments
of donation or gifts to the Cemetery Association or the Town contain
restrictions or limitations on the investment of those funds, then
those funds shall be invested in compliance with those restrictions
and limitations.
The Board of Trustees shall be responsible for the preparation
of the annual budget along with the Finance Director. The Board of
Trustees shall develop an annual operating and capital budget showing
line-item expenses and supporting revenue. The annual budget for the
Cemetery Association shall show the investment of all funds and donations,
and the expenditures anticipated for the operation of the cemeteries
for the budgetary year.
Except as otherwise stated in this chapter, all employees of
the Town working at the public cemeteries, including the Sexton, shall
be subject to the personnel policies of the Town of Camden.
The Board of Trustees shall have the authority to engage independent
contractors for purposes of providing services for the maintenance,
care, repair, and preservation of the public cemeteries, and equipment
and facilities associated with those cemeteries. Independent contractors
shall be engaged for such work on terms and conditions approved by
the Board of Trustees. Independent contractors shall not be considered
employees of the Town of Camden or the Cemetery Association and shall
not be subject to the personnel policies of the Town.
All cemeteries, cemetery lots, and portions of public cemeteries
located in the Mountain View Cemetery and the Oak Hill Cemeteries
shall be owned by the Town of Camden, including all portions of cemeteries
or cemetery lots conveyed to the Camden Cemetery Association, unless
ownership by the Town of Camden violates a restrictive covenant or
prohibition set forth in a deed concerning a portion of a cemetery
or a cemetery lot. The Camden Cemetery Association shall execute deeds
and other instruments for recording in the Knox County Registry of
Deeds, conveying all such interest in the cemeteries, cemetery lots,
and portions of public cemeteries to the Town of Camden.
This chapter shall take full force in effect on the date of
enactment of this chapter at a Town Meeting of the Town of Camden.
Upon enactment of this chapter, this chapter shall supersede
any other ordinance or operating arrangement between the Town of Camden
and the Camden Cemetery Association, and any prior ordinance is repealed.
All cemetery facilities, including equipment, supplies, and materials,
shall be transferred to the Town of Camden under the supervision of
the Board of Trustees as established by this chapter.