NY Not for Profit Corp L § 1509 (2021)
2021 New York Laws NPC - Not-For-Profit Corporation Article 15 - Public Cemetery Corporations 1509 - Cemetery Rules and Regulations; Charges and Lot Tax Assessments.

§ 1509. Cemetery rules and regulations; charges and lot tax assessments.  (a)  Rules  and  regulations.  The directors of a cemetery corporation shall  make  reasonable  rules  and  regulations  for  the  use,   care, management  and protection of the property of the corporation and of all lots, plots and parts thereof; for regulating the dividing marks between the lots, plots and parts thereof; for  prohibiting  or  regulating  the erection  of  structures  upon  such  lots,  plots or parts thereof; for preventing unsightly  monuments,  effigies  and  structures  within  the cemetery  grounds,  and  for  the  removal  thereof;  for regulating the introduction and care of plants, trees and shrubs within  such  grounds; for  the  prevention  of the burial in a lot, plot or part thereof, of a body not entitled  to  burial  therein;  for  regulating  or  preventing disinterments;  for  regulating  the conduct of persons while within the cemetery grounds; for excluding improper persons and preventing improper assemblages therein. The  directors  may  prescribe  penalties  for  the violation  of  any  such  rule  or regulation, not exceeding twenty-five dollars  for  each  violation,  which  shall  be  recoverable   by   the corporation in a civil action.  (b)  Charges  for  services.  The  directors of a cemetery corporation shall fix and make reasonable charges for any acts and services  ordered by the owner and rendered by the corporation in connection with the use, care,  including  perpetual,  annual  and  special  care, management and protection of lots, plots and parts thereof. In determining said charges the directors shall consider the propriety and the fair  and  reasonable cost  and  expense  of rendering the services or performing the work for which such charges are made.  (c) Cemetery board  approval.  (1)  A  cemetery  corporation's  rules, regulations  and  original charges shall not become effective unless and until approved by the cemetery board as hereinafter  provided.  (2)  The directors  of  any  cemetery  corporation, organized on or before August thirty-first, nineteen hundred forty-nine, shall file in the  office  of the cemetery board the name and address of the corporation together with its  rules,  regulations  and charges, and a statement showing the basis upon which they were made,  within  ninety  days  after  the  time  this section  as  hereby  amended takes effect. The directors of any cemetery corporation organized on or  after  September  first,  nineteen  hundred forty-nine,  shall file in the office of the cemetery board the name and address of the corporation together  with  its  rules,  regulations  and charges,  and  a  statement  showing  the basis on which they were made, within ninety days after the date of the filing of  the  certificate  of incorporation  in  the  department of state. (3) Within six months after the date of such filing, the cemetery board shall make and file  in  its office   an  order  approving,  disapproving  or  amending  such  rules, regulations  and  original  charges  in  whole  or  part.  Such   rules, regulations  and  charges,  if approved with or without amendment, shall become effective as approved upon  the  filing  of  such  order  by  the cemetery  board  in  its  office.  The  cemetery  board shall notify the directors of the  action  taken  by  it  and  its  reasons  therefor  by registered mail addressed to the corporation at its principal office. In making  its  determination  as  to  the schedule of charges the cemetery board shall consider the propriety and the fair and reasonable cost  and expense  of rendering the services or performing the work for which such charges are made.  In  passing  upon  the  rules  and  regulations,  the cemetery  board  shall  consider  the  interests  of  the members of the corporation and the  public  interest  in  the  proper  maintenance  and operation  of  burial grounds. (4) The rules, regulations and charges of any cemetery corporation existing  on  or  before  August  thirty-first, nineteen  hundred  forty-nine, shall remain in effect until the cemetery  board files in its  office  an  order  pursuant  to  the  provisions  of subdivision  three  hereof. A cemetery corporation organized on or after September first, nineteen hundred forty-nine,  may  enforce  the  rules, regulations  and charges filed by it in the office of the cemetery board until the cemetery board files in its office an order  pursuant  to  the provisions of subdivision three hereof.  (d)  Services  not  in  list  of charges. In the event that a cemetery corporation provides any services not included in the list  of  charges, and  for  which  a  charge  cannot  reasonably  be fixed in advance, the charges made therefor shall be reviewable by the cemetery board. In  the event that the cemetery board determines that an excessive, unauthorized or  improper charge has been made for such services or that the services have not been properly performed, it may direct the cemetery corporation to pay to  the  person  from  whom  such  charge  was  collected  a  sum equivalent  to three times the amount of the excess as determined by the cemetery board, or in the case of work not properly  performed,  it  may direct the cemetery corporation to perform the work properly.  (e)  Amendment  and  modification.  (1) The rules and regulations of a cemetery corporation may be amended or added to by  the  corporation  by filing  such  proposed  amendments  or  additions  in  the office of the cemetery board but no such amendment  or  addition  shall  be  effective unless and until an order approving such amendments or additions is made by the cemetery board and filed in its office in the same manner as that applicable  to the original filing of the rules, regulations and charges of the cemetery corporation. (2) The charges of a  cemetery  corporation may  be  amended or added to by the corporation by filing an application containing such proposed amendment or addition  in  the  office  of  the division  of  cemeteries  and  shall  be  processed  in  accordance with subparagraph three of this paragraph. The cemetery board shall  consider the propriety and the fair and reasonable costs and expense of rendering the services or performing the work for which such charges are made. The effective rules, regulations or charges of a cemetery corporation may be amended,  modified  or  vacated  by  the cemetery board at any time. The cemetery board shall notify the directors of the action taken by it  and its  reasons  therefor  by registered or certified mail addressed to the corporation at its principal office. In amending, modifying or  vacating any  rule,  regulation  or charge, the cemetery board shall be guided by the standards set forth in subparagraph three of paragraph (c)  of  this section. (3) Any application setting forth the proposed amendment of, or addition  to,  the  charges of a cemetery corporation as provided for by subparagraph two of this paragraph  shall  be  processed  in  accordance either  with  clauses  A,  B and C of this subparagraph or in accordance with clause D of this subdivision.   A. Within thirty-five days following receipt of the  application,  the board  or  the  division  may  request from the cemetery corporation any additional information or documentation  deemed  necessary  to  complete such  application,  and  such  application shall not be complete for the purposes of  compliance  with  this  subparagraph  until  the  requested information  has  been  received.  If  no  such  request  is  made,  the application shall be deemed to be complete on the thirty-fifth day after its receipt by the division.   B. An application setting forth the proposed amendment of, or addition to, the charges of a cemetery corporation shall be deemed to be approved for any cemetery corporation holding, including unrestricted funds, cash and investments totalling less than four hundred  thousand  dollars,  if the  board  does  not  object  to the proposed charges within sixty days following: (i) the date on which the application shall have been  deemed to  be  complete  or  (ii)  the  date on which the requested information  necessary  to  complete  the  application  shall  have  been   received, whichever  is  later.  If  the board objects to the proposed charges, it shall notify the directors in writing with the  reasons  therefor,  such notice  to  be mailed by registered or certified mail to the corporation at its principal office, not less than three business  days  before  the end of such sixty day period. If the board approves such amendment of or addition to the charges, it shall do so by order.   C. An application setting forth the proposed amendment of, or addition to, the charges of a cemetery corporation shall be deemed to be approved for any cemetery corporation holding, including unrestricted funds, cash and  investments  totalling  more than four hundred thousand dollars, if the board does not object to the proposed  charges  within  ninety  days following:  (i) the date on which the application shall have been deemed to be complete or (ii) the  date  on  which  the  requested  information necessary   to  complete  the  application  shall  have  been  received, whichever is later. If the board objects to  the  proposed  charges,  it shall  notify  the  directors in writing with the reasons therefor, such notice to be mailed by registered or certified mail to  the  corporation at  its  principal  office, not less than three business days before the end of such ninety day period. If the board approves such  amendment  of or addition to the charges, it shall do so by order.   D.  A  cemetery may apply to the cemetery board for an increase in any or all of its approved charges by submitting a schedule to the  cemetery board  showing  its  currently approved charges and the proposed charges after applying the employment cost index to said charges as  it  appears in  the  United  States Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Series ECU10001A, not seasonally adjusted, total compensation, civilian, twelve month percent change for all workers schedule or  any  subsequent schedule  that  may be adopted by the United States Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, as  a  replacement  for  the  aforementioned schedule.  Any  application  by  a cemetery under this subparagraph will prohibit application under subparagraph two of this  paragraph  for  one year  from  the  effective  date  of  the  approved  increase under this subparagraph. An application  setting  forth  the  proposed  changes  in charges  shall  be deemed to be approved if the board does not object to the proposed charges within sixty-days following the date on  which  the application  is  submitted  by  a  cemetery. If the board objects to the proposed charges, it shall notify the  directors  in  writing  with  the reasons  therefore,  such  notice to be mailed to the corporation at its principal office, not less than three business days before  the  end  of such  sixty  day  period.  If  the  board  approves such amendment of or addition to the charges, it shall do so by  order.  The  cemetery  board shall  not  approve application by a cemetery under this subparagraph if (i) the proposed percentage increases exceed the employment  cost  index percentages  as  provided  in  this  subparagraph;  (ii) there have been invasions of the permanent maintenance fund by the  cemetery  that  have not been repaid or are not currently being repaid; (iii) the cemetery is currently  not  in compliance with any court order or any cemetery board order that is not under judicial review under paragraph (d)  of  section 1504;  (iv)  the  cemetery  has  not filed in a timely manner its annual reports with the division of cemeteries as required under  section  1508 (Reports by cemeteries); (v) all assessments as required under paragraph (c)  of section 1508 (Reports by cemeteries) and vandalism fund payments as required under subparagraph two of  paragraph  (h)  of  section  1507 (Trust funds) have not been paid.  (f)  Lot  tax  assessment.  (1) If the funds of a cemetery corporation applicable to the improvement and care of its cemetery, or applicable to the construction of a receiving vault therein for the common use of  lot  owners,  be  insufficient  for  such  purposes,  the  directors  of  the corporation, not oftener than once in any year  and  for  such  purposes only,  may,  upon  the prior approval of the cemetery board, which shall determine  the necessity and propriety thereof, levy a tax on some basis to be determined by the directors of such corporation, but no  such  tax shall  exceed  two  dollars on any one lot, except that with the written consent of two-thirds of the lot owners or by the vote of a majority  of the  lot  owners  present  at an annual meeting, or at a special meeting duly called for such purpose, such tax may be for an amount which  shall not exceed a total of five dollars per annum per lot, and the tax on any one  lot  shall  not  exceed five dollars per annum but the taxes may be levied upon each lot in the first instance for a sum sufficient for  the improvement  and  care  of the lot, but no greater sum than five dollars shall be collected in  any  one  year.  The  whole  tax  levied  may  be collected  in  sums  of  five  dollars in successive years in the manner herein provided. (2) Notice of such tax  shall  be  served  on  the  lot owners  or  where two or more persons are owners of the same lot, on one of them, either personally, or by leaving it at his  residence,  with  a person  of  mature  age  and  discretion, or by mail, if he resides in a city, town or village  where  the  office  of  the  corporation  is  not located,  or in case the residence or whereabouts of the owner cannot be ascertained, by publication once a week for four successive weeks  in  a newspaper published in the town where such cemetery is located, or if no newspaper  is published in such town then in some newspaper published in the county where such cemetery is located. (3) If such tax remain unpaid for more than  thirty  days  after  the  service  of  such  notice,  the president  and  secretary  of the corporation may issue a warrant to the treasurer of the corporation, requiring him to collect such tax  in  the same  manner  as school collectors are required to collect school taxes; and such treasurer shall have the same power and be subject to the  same liabilities in executing such warrant as a collector of school taxes has or  is  subject  to  by law in executing a warrant for the collection of school taxes. (4) If the taxes so levied remain unpaid  for  five  years after  the levying of such tax the amount thereof with interest shall be a lien on the unused portion of the lot which is subject  to  such  tax, and  no  portion  of the lot so taxed shall be used by the owner thereof for burial purposes, while any such tax remains unpaid. (5)  If  at  the expiration  of  five  years  from  the  date of the service of the first notice of assessment as herein provided,  any  such  assessment  or  the interest  thereon  shall  remain  unpaid,  the  corporation may sell the unused portion of such lot at public auction upon the cemetery  grounds, in  the  following  manner: If the person owning such lot resides within the  state,  a  written  notice,  under  the  seal  of   such   cemetery corporation,  if  it  have  a  seal,  and  the  hand of the president or secretary thereof, stating the amount of such tax or  taxes  unpaid  and that  such  unused portion of such lot will be sold at a time therein to be specified, not less than twenty days from the date of the service  of such  notice,  shall be personally served upon such owner; if such owner is not a resident of the state, or if the place of his residence  cannot with  due  diligence  be  ascertained,  or  if,  for  any  other  reason satisfactory to the court, personal service cannot with due diligence be made upon such owner, such cemetery corporation, or any of its officers, may present a duly verified petition stating the  facts  to  the  county court of the county in which such cemetery lands are situated, or to the supreme court, and such court may upon satisfactory proof, by its order, direct  the  service  of such notice in the manner provided by the civil practice law and rules for the substituted service  of  a  summons.  The president  or  secretary of such corporation, or any suitable and proper  person appointed by it or by the court, upon filing proof of publication and service of such notice as provided by section three hundred fourteen of the surrogate's court procedure act may make such sale, and such sale may  be adjourned from time to time for the accommodation of the parties or for other proper reasons. Previous  notice  of  such  sale  shall  be posted  at  the  main  entrance of the cemetery. Prior to such sale such corporation shall cause such lot to be resurveyed and replotted  showing the  part  thereof  not  used  for  burial purposes and only such unused portion shall be sold. The cemetery corporation may  at  any  such  sale purchase  any  such  lots  or parts of lots. The surplus remaining after paying all assessments, interest, cost and charges shall be set aside by the corporation, as a fund for the care and improvement of  the  portion of such lot that has been used for burial purposes. In case the proceeds of  such sale shall amount to more than thirty dollars the person making it shall make his report, under oath, to the court, of  the  proceedings and  shall  state the amount for which such lot was sold and that it was sold to the highest responsible bidder, together with the names  of  the purchasers,  and  the  court  may  and in a proper case shall, by order, confirm the sale; in all other cases the person making such  sale  shall file  in  the  office  of  the  county  clerk of the county in which the cemetery lands are situated a like report duly verified; on  the  filing of  such  order  of confirmation or such report, as the case may be, the ownership of the unoccupied portion  of  such  lot  shall  vest  in  the purchaser  thereof. (6) The directors of any such corporation may make a contract with a lot owner which shall provide for the payment by him  of an  agreed  gross  sum in lieu of further taxes and assessments and that upon the payment of such gross sum  the  lot  of  such  owner  shall  be thereafter exempt from taxes and assessments.  (g)  Purchases through office of general services. Notwithstanding the provisions of any general, special or local law, any officer or agent of a cemetery  corporation  subject  to  the  provisions  of  this  article authorized  to  make purchases of commodities and services may make such purchases through the office of general services subject to  such  rules as  may be established from time to time pursuant to section one hundred sixty-three of the state finance law; provided that  any  such  purchase shall  exceed five hundred dollars and that the cemetery corporation for which such officer or agent acts shall accept  sole  responsibility  for any  payment due the vendor. All purchases shall be subject to audit and inspection by the cemetery corporation  for  which  made.  Two  or  more cemetery  corporations  may  join  in  making purchases pursuant to this section and, for the purposes of this  section,  such  groups  shall  be deemed a cemetery corporation.