Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Cemetery Funding topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Bellevue Cemetery leaders defend locking gates, say container fund covers overtime and security costs
Summary
Bellevue Cemetery officials told the Lawrence City Council that a city-authorized "container" revolving fund, funded by 60% of cemetery lot sales, pays operating costs including overtime used to lock gates and respond to vandalism and drug activity; councilors pressed for clearer reports and a written process for purchases and transfers.
Elizabeth Charlton, chairwoman of the Bellevue Cemetery board, told the Lawrence City Council that Bellevue Cemetery uses a city-authorized "container" revolving fund as its operating budget and that the fund covers overtime and security costs.
"You already get 40% of the sale of every single lot in the Bellevue Cemetery. That is given to the city. We get 60% that goes into the container fund, and we use it for our operating budget," Charlton said. She described repeated vandalism, vehicle damage to headstones, two rapes, and drug deaths that the board says justify locking cemetery gates at night.
The cemetery director, who identified the fund as the cemetery's revolving or "container" fund, told the council the cemetery receives minimal direct city operating support in the budget and relies on the 60% share of lot-sale revenue. She said the cemetery budget shows roughly $95,000 available in the revolving fund and that overtime costs have increased; she told the council she moved $30,000 into overtime to cover overages and asked for an overtime increase in the current budget.
Councilors asked for clarity about how overtime is charged and where any overtime payments made by families (for after-hours burials) flow. The director said the cemetery charges $600 for overtime burials but that those overtime fees are paid to the city rather than into the cemetery—s container fund. Councilors noted that creates a perception issue: the cemetery pays overtime out of its fund while overtime fees collected at burials do not return to that fund.
Councilors praised improved cemetery maintenance and asked for clearer reporting. Councilor Luzon (first name not recorded in the transcript) and others asked for an annual memo that explains the process for purchasing a container or box, details on sales by date, and an annual line-item report that lists revenues and expenditures. The director said an annual, detailed report is produced each July and offered to email a step-by-step guide for lot/container purchases.
The council discussed transfers that had been recorded as year-end moves to cover overtime and that some transfers had been authorized at the recent meeting. A councilor noted transfers of roughly $60,000 related to overtime and asked that future quarterly reports include clearer revenue/dates/quantities for the revolving account. The director agreed to provide additional detail.
Why this matters: Bellevue Cemetery handles interments and historic graves that families visit and the cemetery board says security and overtime are necessary to prevent vandalism and protect irreplaceable stones. Councilors requested more transparent line-item and event-level reporting so the council and public can reconcile the cemetery's self-generated revenues, overtime spending, and related transfers.
Council action and next steps: Councilors un-tabled the Bellevue Cemetery revolving fund item and moved it forward for approval on the council docket. Councilors asked the director to provide: (1) the cemetery—s annual report (including every sale and transaction), (2) a memo explaining the lot/container purchase process, and (3) quarterly reports that break out dates, revenues, and expenditures in more detail.
