Shall the Town of Hampton vote to raise and appropriate the sum of $50,000 for the purpose of maintenance of the Cemeteries in order to protect grave sites, gravestones, and roadways, and to authorize funding said appropriation through the withdrawal of $50,000 from the principal in the Cemetery Maintenance Trust Fund, established for that purpose under Article 26 of the 1986 Town Meeting. This shall be a non-lapsing appropriation per RSA 32:7, VI and shall not lapse until the maintenance is completed or by March 31, 2027, whichever occurs sooner? (Majority vote required)
What it means: There is a fund that was set up in 1986 for the purpose of maintaining the cemeteries. Voter approval to use this money is required. The outlined work would be performed using $50,00 from this fund, which had a value of $661,000 at the end of 2021.
Those in favor say: The cemeteries need regular work in order to maintain safety. There are overgrown roots that are pulling up the walkway and causing a trip hazard. Some of the stones have been broken due to trees coming down, and many need to be cleaned due to moss and lichen overtaking them. The requested funds would allow the Cemetery Maintenance crew to do the necessary work to clean up the cemeteries.
Those against say: No one spoke against this article at the Deliberative Session.
Fiscal impact: There would be no new tax impact, because the funds would be taken from the Cemetery Maintenance Trust Fund.