Chapter 20 - Cemeteries

CHAPTER TWENTY

CEMETERIES

ARTICLE 1  Cemetery Board

20.0101  Appointment

There is hereby established within and for the City of Lakota, a Board which shall be styled “The Board of Trustees of the City Cemeteries of the City of Lakota, North Dakota”.  Said Board shall consist of five persons who shall be citizens of the United States and legal residents of the City of Lakota, North Dakota.  At a regular meeting of the City Council immediately following the passage of this ordinance, the Mayor shall appoint one member of said Board for a term of five years, one member for a term of four years, one member for a term of three years, one member for a term of two years and one member for a term of one year.  Said persons so appointed shall hold their respective offices as such trustees for the term for which they are appointed and until their respective successors are appointed and qualified.  Said respective terms shall commence on the second Monday of November next succeeding such appointment.

On the second Monday in November of each year after the passage of this ordinance the Mayor shall appoint one person possessing the qualifications aforesaid as a member of said Board for a term of five years or until a successor is appointed and qualified.

 In case of a vacancy in any manner arising in said Board, the Mayor shall appoint some person possessing the qualifications aforesaid as a member of said Board for the unexpired term of the member whose office shall have become vacant.

 All appointments to said board shall be subject to the approval of the City Council and any appointee not receiving the approval of a majority of said City Council shall not be again eligible to appointment for a period of one year.

20.0102  Removal

The Mayor may at anytime remove any member of said Board, stating his reason therefor which reasons shall be entered upon the records, or the Council may at any time remove any member by a two-thirds vote upon resolution stating the reasons, the vote being taken by the ayes and nays and all the proceedings entered upon the records.  No member of said Board shall be interested, either directly or indirectly, in any contract entered into by said Board; and any contract entered into by said Board in violation of this provision shall be absolutely null and void.

20.0103  Responsibilities

Said Board, subject to the control of the City Council, shall have the care, custody, management, supervision and control of all cemetery ground and places of burial that are now or hereafter may be in any manner owned, held or controlled by said city, and also all property, real, personal and mixed, which is or in any manner used, occupied or possessed in connection with any such cemetery grounds or places of burial, and also all books, plats, records and papers to any of such property in any manner appertaining or used in connection therewith.  Said Board shall have the power to make and enforce, subject to the approval of said Council, such rules and regulations for the care, management, preservation, and improvement of such cemeteries and cemetery property, and places of burial, as they may deem proper.  No member of said Board shall receive any compensation for his services.

ARTICLE 2  Meetings and Officers

20.201                 Meetings

The said Board of Trustees shall, on the third Monday of November in each year, meet and elect one of their members as President of said Board, and some suitable person, who shall be a resident and qualified elector of said city as Secretary of said Board.  The Treasurer of the City of Lakota is hereby declared to be ex-officio the Treasurer of said Board.  Said Board shall also have the right to appoint a City Sexton and such other officers as they may deem necessary, and to prescribe their duties and to remove at pleasure any officer by them appointed, and also to employ such other persons as they may deem necessary, and to designate and fix, subject to the approval of said Council, the compensation of all officers and persons so appointed or employed.

Said Board shall hold stated meetings at such times as it shall by by-law, resolution or otherwise appoint.  Special meetings may be called by the President, and shall be called by him upon the written request of three or more members of said Board.  Notice of all special meetings must be served personally upon each and every member of said Board, or by written notice signed by the President or Secretary, directed to each member, and deposited in the post office in the City of Lakota, at least twenty four hours previous to any such special meeting; but when any special meeting is organized when all the members are present and participate in the business transacted, shall be a legal meeting of said Board though no notice of such meeting was given.  Said Board may adopt such rules and regulations to govern its deliberations and the manner of conducting its business as it shall determine upon, and may amend, change or repeal the same in such manner as it shall determine.

20.0202  Secretary

It shall be the duty of the Secretary, under the direction of the Board, to keep a set of books in which shall be made a full and complete record of all proceedings of said Board and of all moneys received and paid out by them, showing fully and in detail, from what sources the same were received and for what purposes paid out.  He shall also perform such other duties as may be required of him by the board.

20.0203  Treasurer

The Treasurer of said Board shall annually execute and deliver to the City of Lakota a bond in such sum and with such sureties as the Council may direct and approve, conditioned that he will faithfully perform the duties of said office, and well and truly account for and pay over all moneys which may come into his hands as such treasurer.  He shall receive all moneys which may be appropriated to, or in any manner come into the control or possession of said Board.  He shall pay all orders drawn on him by said Board, and all such orders shall be signed by the President and countersigned by the Secretary of the Board.

20.204  Books

The books and papers of said Board and of the Secretary and Treasurer thereof, shall at all times be open to the examination of the City Council or any of its committees, or any person appointed for that purpose by said Council.

The said Board shall, at the first Council meeting in July of each year, make and deliver an annual financial statement, and make a report to said Council of the proceedings of said Board for the preceding year, and of the condition of all cemeteries and cemetery property in charge of said Board and shall also make such recommendations as they deem proper.

ARTICLE 3  Financial Management

20.0301  Budget

Said Board shall on the first Monday in July of each year, report to the City Council an estimate of the amount of money required by said Board for use in and about the care and management of the city cemeteries and cemetery property for the next, ensuing year.

The City Council shall, at its regular meeting in August of each year, and at such other times as may be necessary, appropriate such sum of money as it may deem necessary for the purposes aforesaid.  The City Auditor shall, within three days after any appropriation made by the Council for the use of said Board notify the City Treasurer and also the secretary of said Board of the amount thereof.  And thereupon the Treasurer shall transfer to the credit of said Board the amount so appropriated.

20.0302  Fund

All moneys appropriated by the City Council to the use of said Board, and all moneys received from the sale of lots in any city cemetery, or from any source whatever or in any manner connected with any such cemetery or cemetery property shall be paid over the Treasurer of said Board, and shall constitute a fund to be known as the City Cemetery Fund and shall not, nor shall any part thereof, be loaned to any other fund of said city, nor used nor appropriated to any purpose whatever other than in and about the care, management and improvement of the cemeteries and cemetery property of said city.

20.0303  Lot Care

Any person may deposit with the Treasurer of said Board any sum not less than ten dollars for the purpose of being used and expended by said Board in and about the care, repair and ornamentation, or either, on any lot in any such cemetery, by such deposit or in writing designated; and all such moneys shall be expended for the purpose and in the manner designated.

Any person desiring to provide for the temporary care of a lot may do so by depositing one dollar for the season, which money shall be used in keeping the grass cut on the lot designated when in the judgment of the Sexton or Board same is necessary.

Any person desiring to provide for the perpetual care of any lot may deposit such sum, not less than twenty-five dollars, as may be determined by the Board.  All moneys so deposited shall constitute a fund to be known as the “Perpetual Care Fund,” and shall be invested by said Board in good, safe interest bearing securities; the net income arising from each and every such deposit shall be applied and expended by said Board in and about the care, repair and ornamentation, or either, on the lot designated by the depositor.

20.0304  Reports

The Board of Trustees shall annually in the month of May, submit to the City Council for approval a report designating the value of each and every unsold lot in the city cemeteries; and when approved by the Council, any person may purchase any lot or lots, not to exceed four in number, in said cemeteries, at a price so designated, and the same shall be conveyed to such purchaser.

20.0305  Lot purchase

Whenever any person shall desire to purchase any lot in said cemeteries, he shall make application therefor to the Secretary of the Board of Trustees, who shall forthwith deliver to such person duplicate statements stating that application has been made for the purchase of the lot designated in said statements, the designated value of such lot, that the same is unconveyed, and that the person named in such statement will be entitled to a conveyance of such lot upon the payment to the Treasurer of the Board, of the designated value of the lot, which statement shall not be assignable or transferable.

The holder of such statement shall present the same to the Treasurer, and upon payment to him of the sum stated said Treasurer shall execute a receipt thereon upon each of said duplicate statements, and shall retain one and deliver the other to the person presenting such statement.  Upon presentation to the Auditor of such statement and receipt he shall execute to the person named in said statement a conveyance, and shall endorse thereon the date of such conveyance, and shall forthwith file said statement in the office of the Secretary of the Board who shall make the proper entries upon his books.  The Secretary shall thereupon charge to the Treasurer the gross amount named in such statement.

The Secretary shall keep for each and every cemetery owned, held, or controlled by said city a separate record under the proper designated name of such cemetery, in which he shall enter, in the proper order, a description by its number of every lot in said cemetery; and whenever a conveyance is made he shall enter opposite such description the name of the grantee, the date of conveyance, and the amount paid for such lot.

The Secretary shall prepare and deliver to the Sexton a book containing a description of the numbers of all lots in said cemeteries, with the names of the owners of all lots sold, entered opposite such lots.  Said Sexton shall present said book to the Secretary once a month for any corrections or additions thereto.

The Treasurer of the Board shall keep an accurate account of the funds of said cemeteries, crediting them with all moneys received and charging them with all payments made on their account.

ARTICLE 4  Grounds Management

20.0401 

The following general rules are hereby established for the government of the grounds of the City cemeteries and interments therein, to-wit:

1.           All lots shall be held for the burial of the human dead, and for no other purpose.

2.           Proprietors shall not allow interments to be made in their lots for a remuneration.

3.           No disinterments shall be made except upon permission granted as directed by the Board of Trustees.

4.           The proprietor of each lot shall have the rights to cultivate trees, shrubs and plants on the same, but all such trees must be so set inside the boundary of such lot, and be of such kind only as not to interfere with adjoining lots, avenues or alleys.  But no trees growing within a lot or border shall be cut down or destroyed without consent of the Board of Trustees.  And said Board shall have the right at any time to enter upon any lot and cut down or remove any such tree or shrub, or parts thereof, as they may deem detrimental to the grounds, unsightly, or inconvenient to the public or to the adjacent avenues.  The Board of Trustees shall have the right to enter upon any lot and make such improvements as they may deem for the advantage of the grounds.  Lot owners shall not change the grade of lots, or interfere in any way with the general plan of improvements directed by the Board.

5.           Lot owners shall have the right to erect any proper granite, marble; or stone monument, or sepulchral structures upon their lots; provided that no vaults shall be built entirely or partially above ground, and that all foundations for monuments and other structures must be approved by the Board of Trustees or their authorized agents.

6.           If any monument, effigy, inscription or any structure be placed in or upon any lot, which shall be determined by the Board of Trustees to be offensive or improper or injurious to the surrounding grounds, the said Board shall have the right to correct or remove the same.

7.           It shall be unlawful to make any interment upon any lot in said cemeteries, other that in the potter’s field, until such lot has been paid for and until a burial permit has been duly issued as required by statute.