Proposed updates to fees and charges for cemeteries has left a perception of skyrocketing local costs.
As Centre Wellington council reviewed its package of revised fees and charges late last month, councillor Mary Lloyd stated that since coming to council, “we’ve been seeing very substantial increases in the [cost] of adult plots for burial.”
Lloyd said she was told Centre Wellington was comparing its costs to Orangeville and Guelph.
“It seems to me that in the past three years since I’ve come to council – the costs have gone up over 100 per cent,” said Lloyd. “Clearly we were under the going rate, but I am not in favour of seeing yet another increase.
“When people are in their darkest time, it is difficult, and Canada Pension burial fees or death benefits are not increasing to the rate we’ve been increasing [the cost of] these plots.”
Director of infrastructure Colin Baker was asked for justification of the proposed 14.7% increase other than to bring Centre Wellington in line with its larger neighbours.
Baker deferred comment to Wes Snarr, who had access to the financial analysis. Snarr said the department does not break even with burials.
Baker pointed to a significant upcoming cost at the Belsyde Cemetery. He was uncertain whether that would take the form of a new cemetery to service the Fergus area or an expansion of the existing Belsyde Cemetery site.
Councillor Walt Visser explained some of the cemetery standards have also changed.
One of those changes included replacing individual tombstones with a channel where multiple tombstones can be placed.
“It makes it easier for maintenance and preservation of the stone,” he said. Also, instead of burials in the earth, caskets are placed within crypts.
“Those things are expensive. We are certainly not making money on burials. It is still quite expensive.”
Visser added price increases are not being contemplated to “gouge” anyone and they are necessary “to even come close to cost recovery.”
Councillor Kirk McElwain noted Centre Wellington costs are now higher than Orangeville’s – so using that comparison is no longer a reason to escalate prices.
“I guess the good News is that it is an incentive to live, because the cost of dying is going up faster than the cost of living,” said McElwain. He added, “this is not fair; people cannot afford these prices going up.”
Chief Administrative Officer Andy Goldie said local funeral home operators told him there are now more frequent requests for Saturday afternoon burials to accommodate families. He said the municipality has looked at additional fees for that service since it is outside the traditional staff work hours. Goldie added the response from local funeral homes was that given the demand for the service, people would be willing to pay extra for the weekend burials.
Visser said that was one of the reasons the increases were originally phased over a number of years. Even so, he said, the increases have yet to catch up to the point of cost recovery for the work.
Councillor Steven VanLeeuwen asked if this was to be the last increase for a while. He suggested further increases would see local costs exceed those of Guelph.
Goldie said the current increase was to get the costs on par, and any future increases would be based on operational costs. Goldie hoped this would be one of the last big jumps, but there is no guarantee.
Lloyd suggested that if a family chose a Saturday burial, there should simply be a separate rate. However, she said the cemetery fees are part of an overall concern to changes in rates and fees for the township.
When the cost of living increase is under one per cent, Lloyd asked why Centre Wellington was proposing rate/fee increases of two and four per cent and higher.
“I recognize it is a user-based system, but we are consistently over the cost of living. That is difficult for people to plan for.”
Goldie said the increases reflect operating costs going up in those respective areas.
“In a user-pay basis, we have to increase those costs.”
Councillor Kelly Linton pointed out that if the increases are not reflected in user fees, “they end up on the tax bills.
“To me, we have to recoup as much as we can for the service provided. If we don’t we are putting pressure on taxpayers.”
While McElwain agreed with the approach, he questioned why Centre Wellington’s rates for burial costs were going up higher than Guelph or Orangeville.
Council deferred a decision on the cemetery fee changes pending clarification from Snarr, but adopted the remainder of the proposed fees and service charges.
