Town Cemeteries

V.S.A. tit. 18, ch. 121, subch. 2

in effect

18 V.S.A. § 5361 Appropriations and regulations by towns

5361. Appropriations and regulations by towns A town may vote sums of money necessary for purchasing, holding, improving, and keeping in repair suitable grounds and other conveniences for permanent disposition of the dead. The selectboard may make necessary regulations concerning public burial grounds and for fencing and keeping the same in proper order. Amended 2021, No. 157 (Adj. Sess.), § 7, eff. July 1, 2022; 2021, No. 169 (Adj. Sess.), § 12, eff. Jan. 1, 2023.

18 V.S.A. § 5362 Repair; expense; notice

5362. Repair; expense; notice (a) When lots or walks in a public burial ground become unsightly with weeds or by an unchecked growth of grass or from any other cause, or when headstones or monuments have become displaced or out of repair, the selectboard or board of cemetery commissioners shall cause such lots and walks to be cleared of weeds and grass, the headstones or monuments to be replaced or repaired, or other disfigurements removed, and may draw orders on the town treasurer for the expenses incurred. (b) When a headstone or monument is to be replaced, the selectboard or board of cemetery commissioners shall notify relatives of the deceased, if known, of the date of the removal and that the relative may claim the removed headstone or monument within 30 days after the date of the notice. Amended 1993, No. 128 (Adj. Sess.), § 2; 2015, No. 85 (Adj. Sess.), § 1, eff. May 4, 2016.

18 V.S.A. § 5363 Penalty

5363. Penalty A selectboard member, cemetery commissioner, or trustee who violates a provision of this chapter, or willfully neglects any of the duties imposed by this chapter, for which other penalties are not provided, shall be fined not more than $200.00. Amended 1989, No. 142 (Adj. Sess.), § 11.

18 V.S.A. § 5364 Fences; penalty

5364. Fences; penalty When the selectboard or cemetery commissioners neglect to keep in repair the fence around a public burial ground, the town may be prosecuted for such neglect and fined not more than $400.00. The fine shall be expended in repairing the fences around such burial grounds under the direction of a commissioner appointed by the court. Amended 1989, No. 142 (Adj. Sess.), § 12.

18 V.S.A. § 5365 Damages for want of fence; liability

5365. Damages for want of fence; liability When a person or estate is damaged by cattle, horses, sheep, or swine breaking into a public burial ground and injuring a grave, headstone, monument, shrubbery, or flowers, for want of a legal fence around such burial ground, such person or estate may recover of the town double the amount of damages, in a civil action.

18 V.S.A. § 5366 Not liable until notified

5366. Not liable until notified A town shall not be charged for not keeping in repair the fence around a burial ground, or be liable for damage done, unless the selectboard, or cemetery commissioners, as the case may be, had notice in writing 20 days previous that the fence was out of repair. Amended 1989, No. 142 (Adj. Sess.), § 13.

18 V.S.A. § 5367 Duties of selectboard

5367. Duties of selectboard When a town neglects to place one or more of its public burial grounds under the charge of a board of cemetery commissioners, the selectboard shall have power to sell and convey lots in such burial grounds. They shall apply the proceeds of such sales and accept for the town and use legacies, bequests, and gifts for improving and embellishing the grounds.

18 V.S.A. § 5368 Exceptions

5368. Exceptions Sections 5361-5367 of this title shall not apply to a burial ground which is subject to other control than that of the selectboard or the board of cemetery commissioners.

18 V.S.A. § 5369 Removal

5369. Removal When it is impracticable to preserve a burial ground in proper condition, and the removal of the remains of the dead in the burial ground is required, the selectboard, in their discretion, may cause such remains to be removed and interred in a more suitable public burial ground. Amended 2023, No. 6, § 174, eff. July 1, 2023.

18 V.S.A. § 5370 Notice; headstones

5370. Notice; headstones When remains of the dead are removed, the selectboard, if necessary, shall cause suitable headstones or monuments to be erected to the memory of the deceased, or to designate the place of interment. Such remains shall not be so removed if there are known kindred of the deceased residing in the State, until after 30 days’ notice of the intention so to do. When kindred do not reside in the State, and known kindred reside without the State, then the remains shall not be so removed, until after 60 days’ notice to one of such kindred. Such notice shall be given personally or by registered mail.

18 V.S.A. § 5371 Town or city to furnish headstone

5371. Town or city to furnish headstone In case of the burial of a person not having known estate, and not having a suitable marker or headstone erected at the person’s grave within three years after the date of such burial, the selectboard of the town or the aldermen of a city, as the case may be, where such person is buried, shall cause to be erected at such person’s grave, at the expense of such town or city, a suitable marker or headstone with the inscription thereon of the name of the deceased and dates of the deceased’s birth and death, if the same are known. Amended 2023, No. 6, § 175, eff. July 1, 2023.

18 V.S.A. § 5372 Appropriation for cemetery associations

5372. Appropriation for cemetery associations At a legal meeting of the voters thereof, when an article for such purpose has been duly inserted in the warning for such meeting, a town may appropriate such sums of money as it deems necessary for an incorporated cemetery association owning or in control of a cemetery in such town, for the purposes of such cemetery.

18 V.S.A. § 5373 Cemetery commissioners

5373. Cemetery commissioners When a town votes to place its public burial grounds under the charge of cemetery commissioners, it shall elect separately a board of three or five cemetery commissioners, who shall have the care and management of such burial ground and exercise all the powers, rights, and duties with respect to such care and management and all responsibility on the part of the selectboard shall cease.

18 V.S.A. § 5374 Term

5374. Term The commissioner first chosen shall hold office five years, the next four years, the next three years, the next two years, and the last one year. When the term of office of each commissioner expires, a successor shall be chosen for five years. Vacancies in the board may be filled by the remaining commissioners until the next annual meeting. However, a town so voting at an annual town meeting may limit the number of the board to three members and the term of office to three years.

18 V.S.A. § 5375 Laying out and improving grounds; burial without charge

5375. Laying out and improving grounds; burial without charge The board of cemetery commissioners may set apart such portion of the burial grounds placed under its charge as it deems proper, as a place for the burial of persons without charge therefor, under such regulations as it prescribes. It may lay out the remaining unoccupied portions in suitable lots, with necessary paths, avenues, or other reserved places, and may plant and embellish the same with trees, shrubs, and flowers.

18 V.S.A. § 5376 Sale of lots; tax exemption

5376. Sale of lots; tax exemption The board of cemetery commissioners, by one of the commissioners appointed by it for that purpose, in the name of the town, by deed, may grant and convey lots in such burial grounds to be used for the permanent disposition of the dead and on which tombs, cenotaphs, and other monuments are to be erected. Such lots shall be exempt from taxation. The deeds thereof shall be recorded in the office of the town clerk of the town where such lots lie. Amended 2021, No. 169 (Adj. Sess.), § 13, eff. Jan. 1, 2023; 2023, No. 6, § 176, eff. July 1, 2023.

18 V.S.A. § 5377 Proceeds of sale; expenditure

5377. Proceeds of sale; expenditure The proceeds of such sale of lots shall be paid into the town treasury and kept separate from other funds of the town and subject to the order of the board. Such proceeds, with the income thereof, shall be devoted to maintaining, improving, and embellishing such burial grounds. If the town so votes, the board may sell lots upon condition that the proceeds from a sale shall be paid into the town treasury in trust and the income thereof be expended in caring for such lots and the structures thereon. The board shall fix the prices for such lots and make regulations in respect to the sale and care thereof. Amended 2023, No. 6, § 177, eff. July 1, 2023.

18 V.S.A. § 5378 Bylaws and regulations

5378. Bylaws and regulations The board of cemetery commissioners may make necessary bylaws and regulations in respect to such burial grounds, and permanent disposition of the dead not inconsistent with law, and may alter the same. Such bylaws and regulations shall be recorded in the office of the town clerk. A bylaw or regulation shall not be adopted to restrain a person in the free exercise of his or her religious sentiments as to the permanent disposition of the dead. Amended 2021, No. 169 (Adj. Sess.), § 14, eff. Jan. 1, 2023.

18 V.S.A. § 5379 Report of cemetery commissioners

5379. Report of cemetery commissioners The board shall submit annually a written report to the town auditors as to the condition and needs of the burial grounds under its charge and of its doings, including a detailed statement of its receipts and expenditures and of the amount and disposition of the funds in its hands or subject to its control.

18 V.S.A. § 5380 Auditors

5380. Auditors The town auditors shall audit such statement, file it in the office of the town clerk, and include the whole or a summary thereof in their annual report.

18 V.S.A. § 5381 Transfer of care from commissioners to selectboard

5381. Transfer of care from commissioners to selectboard By vote, a town may take its burial grounds out of the charge of the board of cemetery commissioners and place the same under the charge of the selectboard. When a town so votes, the office of cemetery commissioners shall terminate.

18 V.S.A. § 5382 Town trust funds—Acceptance of property

5382. Town trust funds—Acceptance of property A town may take and hold in trust grants, gifts, or bequests of property and apply the same or the income thereof for the care, improvement, or embellishment of its burial grounds or a part thereof, or for the erection, preservation, or removal of a monument, fence, or other structure in or around the same according to the terms of the grant, gift, or bequest.

18 V.S.A. § 5383 Acceptance of money in trust

5383. Acceptance of money in trust A town may vote to receive and hold money in trust, the income of which is to be used for the care and improvement of its burial grounds, or of private lots within such burial grounds or elsewhere.

18 V.S.A. § 5384 Payment to treasurer; record; investment

5384. Payment to treasurer; record; investment (a) Unless otherwise directed by the donor, all monies received by a town for cemetery purposes shall be paid to the town treasurer, who shall give a receipt for monies received, which shall be recorded in the office of the town clerk in a book kept for that purpose. The book shall also state the amount received from each donor, the time when, and the specific purpose for which it is appropriated. (b)(1) All monies so received by the town may be invested and reinvested by the treasurer, with the approval of the selectboard, by deposit in: (A) certificates of deposit and other evidences of deposit at Vermont, national, or federal chartered banks, and savings and loan associations that are guaranteed or insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or its successor; (B) obligations of the United States, its agencies, and instrumentalities, which have a liquid market with readily determinable market value; (C) investment-grade obligations of state or local governments, instrumentalities, and public authorities; and (D) the shares of an investment company or an investment trust, such as a mutual fund, closed-end fund, or unit investment trust, that is registered under the federal Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended, if such fund has been in operation for at least five years and has net assets of at least $100,000,000.00. (2)(A) However, in a town that elects trustees of public funds, cemetery funds shall be invested by the trustees in any of the securities enumerated in this section, and the income thereof paid to the proper officers as the same falls due. (B) Investment income shall be expended for the purpose and in the manner designated by the donor. The provisions of this section as to future investments shall not require the liquidation or disposition of securities legally acquired and held. (3) The treasurer, selectboard, or trustees of public funds may delegate management and investment of town cemetery funds to the extent that it is prudent under the terms of the trust or endowment, and in accordance with section 3415 (delegation of management and investment functions) of the Uniform Prudent Management of Institutional Funds Act, 14 V.S.A. chapter 120. Notwithstanding the limitations on investments set forth in this subsection, an agent exercising a delegated management or investment function, if investing, shall invest cemetery funds in a publicly traded security that is: (A) registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission pursuant to 15 U.S.C. § 78l and listed on a national securities exchange; (B) issued by an investment company registered pursuant to 15 U.S.C. § 80a-8; (C) a corporate bond registered as an offering with the Securities and Exchange Commission pursuant to 15 U.S.C. § 78l and issued by an entity whose stock is a publicly traded security; (D) a municipal security; (E) a deposit in federally insured financial institutions as defined in 8 V.S.A. § 11101(32); or (F) a security issued, insured, or guaranteed by the United States. (4) If the municipality has adopted an investment policy, the treasurer, selectboard, or trustees of public funds shall invest in accordance with the provisions of the municipal policy that do not conflict with this section. Amended 2017, No. 26, § 1; 2017, No. 123 (Adj. Sess.), § 3, eff. May 3, 2018; 2021, No. 84 (Adj. Sess.), § 1, eff. July 1, 2022; 2023, No. 6, § 178, eff. July 1, 2023.

18 V.S.A. § 5385 Accounts; expenditures

5385. Accounts; expenditures The town treasurer shall keep a separate account of each such trust fund unless the same is in charge of the trustees of public funds. The income therefrom shall be subject to the order of the selectboard or board of cemetery commissioners as the case may be. Such boards shall expend such income pursuant to the conditions of the trust. When such boards neglect to expend the income pursuant to the conditions of the trust, the town may be indicted for such neglect and upon conviction be fined not more than $100.00.

18 V.S.A. § 5386 Report

5386. Report The town treasurer or trustees of public funds shall annually report the condition of such funds to the town.

18 V.S.A. § 5387 Money received prior to 1895

5387. Money received prior to 1895 Sections 5383-5386 of this title shall not be construed to affect the action of a town in respect to money received in trust for the purpose named by the donor, prior to February 1, 1895.

Source: Vermont General Assembly (legislature.vermont.gov)URL: https://legislature.vermont.gov/statutes/chapter/18/121Fetched: 10/21/2026