Oakwood Cemetery Board of Regents approved an increase in prices for services at the cemetery.
Sexton Hal Heagy said the last time the prices were changed was in 2015.
Price increases included going to $500 from $400 for full-body burial lots for residents and from $500 to $600 for nonresidents. Cremation lots prices were increased from $195-$200 to $250 for residents and from $210-$250 to $300 for nonresidents.
The biggest topic of change was the prices for timing of burials. Prices for burials where the funeral starts after 2:30 p.m. Monday through Saturday was increased to $350 from $225. For infants, the price for funerals after 2:30 p.m. was increased to $100 from $30.
The price for a burial where the funeral is held after 4 p.m. was increased to $1,000 from $500.
Board member Chris Plack wondered why there was such an increase for the funerals that started after 4 p.m.
Heagy said the fee is a more of a deterrent to not have funerals after hours at the cemetery. When he started as sexton at the cemetery, there was a by-law with the Board that there would be no funerals after 4 p.m. Heagy said he tries to enforce that as much as possible. Heagy said he’d have to charge that fee because he has to pay overtime to workers. He said the point of raising the fee isn’t to gain more money for the cemetery.
Heagy said that he has only had been “tested” once with a funeral after 4 p.m. and that particular funeral director is not around any more.
Heagy said he also has had discretion on waiving the time fee. While he has not waived the fee for funerals after 4 p.m., he has waived the fee for funerals after 2:30 p.m., because funerals have had to start later because the family got stuck due to a train or other circumstances.
The Board also approved the 2022 cemetery budget.
The total budget estimate is $746,167, which is a 2% decrease from the 2021 budget. Included in the budget is $347,065 for salaries and wages, up 3.5% from the 2021 budget. Also included in the budget is $218,387 for employee benefits; $17,425 for gas, electric, water and storm billing; $22,500 for equipment, tree removal, GIS software and Beacon; and $4,780 for professional services.
Heagy said the budget has already been submitted to the city and will have to go to the Warsaw Common Council for approval.
Plack wondered about the budget decrease while the prices were being increased.
Heagy said Mayor Joe Thallemer asked the budget be decreased as much as possible. The $14,000 would be moved to a central budget.
The price increase was to help take the burden off the taxpayer, Heagy said. He said prices have gone up on several things like concrete and labor costs.
The Board also approved an underground co-mingling cremains vault.
Heagy first brought the request from a family to create the vault at the cemetery at the February meeting. He described it as a full-sized vault on a lot with tubes.
“It’s going to be ash funerals, and they want to dump their ashes in this vault,” Heagy said during February’s meeting. As a family, their name would be put on the vault. Since it’s co-mingling, the only rule at the State Board of Health is that for each person that goes in, a letter needs to be signed that it’s OK.
While all the members were OK with the request, the Board was not able to take an in-person vote on it until Thursday’s meeting due to quorum issues.
Heagy said he talked with the lot owner and they are proceeding with the project.
Plack asked the Board to approve the electronic meeting by-law the Warsaw Common Council adopted. He said it would help in the Board’s business, so something like the vault request didn’t have to wait several months to get a vote on due to someone not being able to attend the Board meetings in-person. Plack said he felt bad the lot owners had to wait so long for a vote.
The Board approved a motion to approve an electronic meeting by-law.
Heagy said the Board didn’t need to vote on it since the Warsaw Common Council already approved it. The Board just needed to let Heagy know they wanted to set it up and then he could make sure it happens.
