Plymouth Board Upholds Funeral Home Late Fees 3-2, Suspends Tobacco Retailer

PLYMOUTH — June 17, 2026 — Plymouth Board of Health upholds $600 in late fees against a 131-year-old funeral home and sustains a two-week tobacco suspension against a village store. The board voted 3-2 at its June 17 meeting to deny a late-fee waiver sought by Carmel Davis Funeral Home, which missed its April 30 renewal deadline despite four automated notices sent through the town's OpenGov permitting system; members Amy Palmer, Meg Payne, and board member Katie voted to uphold the fees, while newly re-elected Chair Dr. Terry Reid and new alternate Jolene Conley voted to waive them. In a separate unanimous vote, the board upheld a two-week suspension and a $2,000 fine against Village General Store for a second tobacco sale to an underage person — a 19-year-old inspector's decoy who presented his own valid ID — with the suspension's start date left to be coordinated between the department and the retailer. The board also unanimously approved five septic variance applications and one kitchen equipment variance, reorganized with Reid and Payne re-elected as chair and vice chair respectively, and received a director's report noting Massachusetts opioid overdose deaths fell to 978 in 2025, below 1,000 for the first time in more than a decade.