Templeton town owned cemeteries regulations plainly state "Maintenance of monument/stone is responsibility of lot owner." So, if lot owner puts something on top of the monument/stone, it should not be touched by any other persons, maintenance, landscaping, etc., personnel. Apparently, that is not the case in Templeton. Another bylaw, regulation not followed in Templeton by town employees! Oh, town government wants increase in taxes (override) for more employees, under the guise of service? First, get house in order. Try to find all the other fees (taxes) for different things on town website, you think they are all listed in one convenient place? You would be off just a bit.
I'm not sure that would fly!
ReplyDeleteMaintenance of monument/stone is responsibility of lot owner, does not mean you can add items to monument/stone, increase monument footprint, shape or anything like that. It means you are responsible for monument maintenance, not that you can add decorations, or attachments to monument. That is not maintance!
My two cents
Robert May
Cemeteries should not be taxpayers responsibility. Not everyone believes the same thing, so why is everyone forced to maintain other people ancestors, mine included.
People are not forced to do anything. For some this is a labor of love. If something a loved one places a decoration on the stone, they own, it is not in the way of mowing. Then the Cemetery workers should leave it alone. I have friends that go to the cemetery weekly. Some people never go. It is up to the individual.
ReplyDeleteBev,
ReplyDeleteTaxpayers maintain the centuries even if they don't, won't use them. They are required to pay taxes.
I understand people get emotional, cannot let go, believe different things, but everyone who owns homes in Templeton is forced to pay property taxes!
Maybe the rules should be cleared up? How long do the next of kin maintain ownership after the headstone is placed? That's usually in the deed for the plot. Some cemeteries take immediate possession and other have varying term, but it will end being cemetary property.
I personally do not know how long the ownership remains with the next of Kin as it's nothing I've ever considered for myself.
Actually, Templeton town owned cemeteries have what is called perpetual care funds that are for maintaining the cemeteries. The rules can be changed by a town meeting vote and I suspect there could be a try to do just that at the next ATM.
DeleteJeff, do they.actually pay b&g for upkeep, mowing, tree cutting, plowing, etc?
DeleteMy family, both sides are buried in Pine Grove. I think my Grandmother paid for perpetual care. There are gravestones that were there long before I ever came along. There are parts of the cemetery that need little care because there is not much grass to cut. It is what it is. Seems like the removal of anything on a stone needs to be left alone. Trust me, in our section of the cemetery, we are not pushing up much. Not daisies, for sure.
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