In April, the Edgartown personnel board asked West Tisbury–based consultants Susan and Robert Wasserman of Strategic Policy Partnerships to delve into the workings of the cemetery commission and the ongoing animosity between the commission and cemetery superintendent Jennifer Morgan.
At a special meeting on Tuesday of selectmen, the cemetery commission, the cemetery superintendent, and the town’s personnel board, as well as town counsel and counsel for the superintendent, the Wassermans, in a 13-page report, recommended that Edgartown abolish the cemetery commission and place its three cemeteries under the direction of the board of selectmen.
The report contains a chronology of events leading up to the breakdown in communication between the three members of the commission and Ms. Morgan, who was hired in March 2012. The starkest description is contained under the heading “The current status of the Cemetery Department.”
The description reads, “The situation with charges and counter-charges from both sides has become irreconcilable. Neither party is able to work with the other to resolve issues or conduct normal business. Everyone seems to be afraid of lawsuits and/or being fired. Our review determined that given the history of of these conflicts, the hard lines now drawn, the perceptions of the parties and the personalities involved, that no amount of mediation or intervention will resolve the current conflicts to allow regular cemetery operations to run smoothly. Neither side, Commissioners nor Superintendent, have found satisfactory ways of communicating with each other. We understand the perception of harassment, bullying, violation of civil rights, and willful intimidation. We found lots of evidence of inept communication, but no clear intent to commit the above. Charges and counter-charges including implied threats of firing and lawsuits have only served to further deteriorate the working relationships.”
According to the report, there were two events that “sparked a complicated chain of events that seem to have precipitated an eventual breakdown in the relationship between the commission and the superintendent.”
The report also notes that the cemetery commission has to deal with personnel issues out of the realm of most volunteer boards and committees.
Susan Wasserman, at the suggestion of selectman Arthur Smadbeck, touched on the “bullet points” from the report’s recommendations at Tuesday’s meeting and the conclusion: “We recommend that the cemetery commission be abolished and that selectmen be appointed as cemetery commissioners.” She said that the same arrangement can be found in comparably sized towns across the commonwealth, including West Tisbury and Tisbury.
Ms. Wasserman said that there are essentially two tasks involved in the oversight of the cemeteries: maintenance and groundskeeping, and plot purchasing and recordkeeping. She recommended that the tasks be combined with those of other town departments.
Cemetery commission member Susan Brown said that her work on the commission was “near and dear to my heart.” She said she found aspects of the report positive, but was distressed at the recommendation to abolish the commission, which she noted has been in place for some hundred years.
“I think the cemetery commission is being singled out,” Ms. Brown said. She cited the town’s lack of orientation and training, and suggested the situation might have been avoided if mediation had been considered.
Cemetery commission member Liz Villard said abolishing the commission would amount to “throwing the baby out with the bathwater.”
Ms. Villard said the report didn’t address the $20,000 in Community Preservation Act funds awarded to the town to restore gravestones. “I do have an agenda,” Ms. Villard admitted, “and I bet everyone of you has an agenda, even if it’s to keep the status quo.”
As discussion began to heat up, selectman Arthur Smadbeck reminded everyone that no action would be taken immediately.
“I want to point out that this report has not even been taken under advisement; this is not a fait accompli,” he said.
Personnel board chairman Paul Moreau agreed: “The personnel board is not prepared to make any decisions either.”
The boards agreed to review the report separately and then come together at a future meeting to discuss their recommendations.
In the meantime, the cemetery commission will continue to meet and conduct its business.
It was agreed that all of the boards and the cemetery commission would reconvene at 1 pm Wednesday, August 24.
Following Tuesday’s meeting, Ms. Morgan’s attorney, Ted Saulnier, said the meeting had gone as well as expected. “These people haven’t had time to discuss these issues,” Mr. Saulnier said. “Now they have a meeting scheduled to decide where to go from here.”