At a special joint meeting of the Edgartown selectmen and the personnel committee Wednesday to discuss management of town cemeteries, town leaders agreed to to hand over care of the cemeteries to the Edgartown highway department.
The two town departments also agreed that highway department superintendent Stuart Fuller would add two more laborers to his staff, and that a part-time position would be added to assist the cemetery commission with administrative duties, such as keeping meeting minutes and posting the meetings on the town website in a timely manner.
Discussion also arose as to when the new plan would take effect; it was determined that the new positions would go before voters at annual town meeting, since they will require an adjustment in the budget.
Cemetery commission member Andrew Kelly asked, “What should we be doing in the meantime?”
Personnel board chairman Suzanne Cioffi told the group that until a town meeting is held, the commission is to move forward, conducting “business as usual.”
Wednesday’s meeting was a follow-up to the joint special meeting in July at which selectmen and personnel committee members reviewed a cemetery commission report compiled by West Tisbury–based consultants Susan and Robert Wasserman of Strategic Policy Partnerships that recommended abolishing the historical cemetery commission in light of the poor working relationship between the commissioners and the cemetery superintendent, Jennifer Morgan.
The cemetery commission report also mentioned claims of harassment and bullying, which Ms. Cioffi addressed at Wednesday’s joint meeting. She said the claims were investigated by the personnel board and deemed unfounded. Ms. Cioffi told The Times, “We investigated the Wasserman report complaints, and as a board, we take those complaints very seriously. We had to investigate, and concluded the complaints in the Wasserman report were unfounded. It has been addressed and investigated.”
The 13-page report also recommended placing the town’s three cemeteries under the direction of the board of selectmen.
After reviewing the report at their regular Monday meeting, selectmen leaned toward placing the cemetery under the direction of the Edgartown highway department. However, they did not agree with the report’s recommendation to abolish the cemetery commission.
“One of the things I gleaned from the report,” selectman Arthur Smadbeck said, “is that the cemetery commission needs a little more structure.”
The selectmen discussed providing support by adding part-time office staff that could also take minutes at commission meetings, an area that was lacking according to the Wassermans’ report.
“There are a couple of part-time employees that might be willing to take on those responsibilities, if that’s what you decide to do,” town administrator Pam Dolby said.
“The main issue was the care of the cemeteries,” selectman Margaret Serpa said. “We can transfer that task to the highway department and add two labor positions to the highway department. I think in the long run that would save money.”
Report highlighted problems
The report upon which the decision was based contained 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 was 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 noted that the cemetery commission has to deal with personnel issues out of the realm of most volunteer boards and committees.
In her report to selectmen last month, Ms. Wasserman said that there are essentially two tasks involved in the oversight of the cemeteries: maintenance and groundskeeping, and plot purchasing and recordkeeping.