There shall be in the City of Hudson a department known as the
"Department of Cemeteries."
The Commissioner of Public Works shall have the power to appoint
a Superintendent of Cemeteries and such other subordinates as may
be necessary to exercise the powers and discharge the duties conferred
and imposed upon him by law. The appointment of the Superintendent
and subordinates shall be for a probationary period pending passing
of the civil service examination, and thereafter shall be permanent.
In case of the absence or inability of the Commissioner or of a vacancy
in the office of Commissioner, the Superintendent of Cemeteries shall
discharge the duties of the Commissioner until the Commissioner returns,
his disability ceases or the vacancy is filled.
[1]
Editor's Note: At a referendum held 11-5-1996, the electors of the City of Hudson voted to abolish the position of Commissioner of Cemeteries and to combine those duties with those of the Commissioner of Public Works. Therefore, former §§ C23-2, establishing the position of Commissioner of Cemeteries, C23-3, establishing the term of office of the Commissioner of Cemeteries, and C23-4, regarding the certification of the appointment of the Commissioner of Cemeteries by the Mayor, were deleted at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. I.)
The Commissioner and such other persons as the Commissioner
shall designate, before entering upon the discharge of the duties
of their respective offices, shall each execute and file with the
City Clerk an official undertaking in such sum as may be specified
elsewhere in this Charter.
The Commissioner of Public Works may maintain in the cemetery
grounds a suitable mortuary chapel and suitable buildings to house
tools and implements, and shall defray the expense thereof from any
funds subject to his draft except the proceeds of the sale of cemetery
purchase bonds. He shall have exclusive control and management of
laying out, altering, beautifying and improving cemetery ground belonging
to said City, or which may be purchased or acquired by the City for
such purposes, in such manner as the Commissioner may deem proper,
and make rules and regulations for preserving and keeping in repair
the buildings, fences and other property, as well as the avenues,
roads and walks, and for preventing the destruction or mutilation
of trees, shrubbery or any other property in or about the cemeteries
of said City, which rules and regulations shall be enforced in the
same manner as the ordinances of the Common Council. He shall have
the power to fix the amount to be paid for the annual or perpetual
care of cemetery lots.
The Commissioner of Public Works shall have the power to regulate
the sale of cemetery lots and plots in any of the cemeteries of the
City, and to fix the prices to be paid therefor. The Superintendent
of Public Works, under the direction of the Commissioner of Public
Works, shall prepare accurate maps of all the cemetery lands and lots,
plots, paths, walks and driveways, which maps shall be filed with
the City Clerk in his office and preserved there, and be at all times
open to public inspection. Each lot and plot shall be duly numbered,
and such numbers shall be entered plainly upon the maps aforesaid.
Every deed of such lot or plot shall be executed by the City Treasurer
and countersigned by the Commissioner of Public Works and by the City
Clerk. It shall be the duty of the City Clerk immediately upon the
passage of this Charter to prepare a form of deed for the purpose
aforesaid; and no other form of deed shall be used in the City for
that purpose. Such deeds shall be consecutively numbered, and there
shall be a corresponding number of blank deeds bound in book form
and correspondingly numbered; and when any deed shall be executed
as aforesaid it shall be the duty of the City Clerk to accurately
copy the same, including the name of the grantee or grantees, an accurate
description of the property and the lot numbered, upon a blank correspondingly
numbered in said book, and the grantee shall thereupon, and before
the delivery of said deed, pay to the Clerk the sum as established
by the Common Council for making such copy. New books of blanks shall
be furnished by the City Clerk from time to time whenever they shall
become necessary, and the charge for the same shall be audited and
payment thereof provided by the Common Council; such books shall be
consecutively numbered and kept in the office of the City Clerk and
be at all times open to inspection by the public. The price of such
lot or plot shall be paid to and received by the City Treasurer and
by no other person, and neither the Commissioner of Public Works nor
the City Clerk shall countersign any deed executed by the City Treasurer
unless the grantee therein or the person representing him shall before
such countersigning exhibit to them a receipt for the consideration
duly executed by the City Treasurer. No deed of any such land, lots
or plots shall be valid unless executed by the City Treasurer and
countersigned by the Commissioner of Public Works and the City Clerk,
and the City Clerk shall cause to be printed upon the back of each
deed a copy of this section. The City Clerk shall further provide
books, which shall be preserved in his office, and in which may be
recorded conveyances of any such lots or plots by the grantees thereof,
and for recording the same he shall receive the fees provided by law
for county clerks for similar services. The fees received by the Clerk
under this section shall be held by him for his own proper use and
benefit.
[Amended 7-19-1983 by L.L. No. 5-1983; 5-19-1992 by L.L. No.
5-1992]
All moneys hereinafter received by the City Treasurer from the
sale of lots or plots from any of the cemeteries of the City shall,
to the extent of 90% thereof, be placed by him to the credit of the
Department of Cemeteries, to be used by it for laying, altering, beautifying,
improving and preserving the cemeteries of the City. The remaining
10% of such moneys arising from the sale of cemetery lots or plots
shall immediately, upon its receipt, be placed by the City Treasurer
to the credit of a fund to be known as the "Cemetery Maintenance Fund,"
and the City Treasurer shall invest the same in such securities as
the savings banks of this state are by law permitted to invest in.
Such securities shall be purchased and held by the City Treasurer
in the name of the City of Hudson and shall be its property, and the
income shall be collected by him and immediately upon collection be
placed by him to the credit of the Department of Cemeteries to be
used by it for cemetery purposes. The City Treasurer shall annually
report to the Common Council, under oath, the amounts standing to
the credit of such maintenance fund or a detailed list of all securities
purchased by him under this section. The City Treasurer shall have
authority to sell all or any of such securities which shall be held
by him in the same manner, and when any of the securities purchased
under this section shall have been paid and discharged in full, the
City Treasurer may invest the proceeds in other similar securities.
The purpose of this section, among other things, is to provide for
a perpetual fund for cemetery purposes. The Common Council of the
City of Hudson may at any time require the City Treasurer to furnish
a bond, additional to that hereinbefore provided for and with sufficient
sureties in an amount to be approved by the Common Council, conditioned
for the care, preservation and security of the Cemetery Maintenance
Fund and of all securities purchased under the provisions of this
section. The City Treasurer shall at any time, upon the request of
the Mayor, Commissioner of Public Works or the Common Council, or
any of its members, exhibit to them or any of them the securities
purchased and held by him under the provisions of this section and
give them or any of them full opportunity to examine the same.
The Commissioner shall collect such fees as he may prescribe
for opening and closing graves, and pay over the same monthly to the
City Treasurer. He shall set apart a suitable portion of the cemetery
grounds for free burial, and shall when desired bury dead therein
without charge, shall cause each grave therein to be properly marked
and registered, and shall keep such portion of the grounds in a clean
and healthful condition.
In addition to the powers and duties specifically enumerated
herein, the Commissioner of Public Works shall have the same authority,
powers and duties heretofore vested in and held by any previous commission
or commissioner having powers of supervision over the Department of
Cemeteries under this or any previous Charter or local law, except
as otherwise may have been amended.
The Commissioner of Public Works shall have the supervision
of the expenditure of all moneys appropriated to the Department of
Cemeteries.
The Commissioner of Public Works shall have the authority to
administer oaths, take evidence, affidavits and acknowledgments in
all meetings and proceedings pertaining to the Department. He shall
have the general supervision over the records of the Department and
its officers and employees. He shall possess such other powers and
perform such other duties as may be prescribed by law and all ordinances
and local laws of the Common Council of the City of Hudson.
It shall be the duty of the Commissioner of Public Works to
meet with the Mayor of the City of Hudson for the purpose of reporting
to him the condition of the Department of Cemeteries and the conduct
of his office on the second Tuesday of each month; provided, however,
that in the event the second Tuesday of any month should fall upon
a public holiday, he shall meet with the Mayor on the first day thereafter.
