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Coppell council amends cemetery fee plan, raises nonresident plot price to $10,000
Summary
After months of debate, the Coppell City Council approved an amended fee schedule for Rolling Oaks Memorial Cemetery that raises the nonresident single-plot price to $10,000 and sets new resident rates, while directing staff to monitor sales and revisit pricing as needed.
The Coppell City Council voted unanimously Tuesday to amend the city’s cemetery fee schedule for Rolling Oaks Memorial Cemetery, raising the proposed nonresident single-plot price to $10,000 and adopting the new resident and nonresident rates into the city’s master fee schedule.
The change came after several council members said they wanted stronger nonresident pricing immediately to reduce the share of nonresident purchases while staff continues a longer review of market comparators, perpetuity funding and annual cost-recovery goals.
Councilmember Jim Walker said he wanted more background before voting but said he preferred to delay: “I’d really like to wait on the pricing and being included in the ordinance and then see a more fulsome presentation about the whole thing.” Sherry Belmont, assistant director of community experiences, told the council staff had already completed market research and planned an annual fee review: “We do plan to reevaluate fees obviously annually…we do have comparators within the market” and proposed a June 1 effective date for new rates with pre-need services to start by Oct. 1 under the amended operations plan.
Belmont told council there are three comparable cemeteries within a 16-mile radius with in-ground plot prices ranging from $3,000 to $11,000, and that the prior resident price ($2,000) and nonresident price ($2,500) left the city well below market. She said the cemetery’s annual operating budget is about $1.7 million; the proposed fee package is projected to produce about $2.2 million in year one under current sales assumptions, yielding roughly $420,000 net in year one if projections hold.
Council discussion centered on two goals: ensure the cemetery can be sustained without tapping the general fund and try to increase the share of plots purchased by Coppell residents rather than nonresidents. Councilmembers expressed differing approaches—some preferred to set a high nonresident price now and reduce it later if needed; others favored pausing to review additional comparative pricing data. Councilmember Walker moved to approve the consent-item amendment with a specific change raising the nonresident single-plot price to $10,000; Mayor Pro Tem Don Carroll seconded. The motion carried unanimously (Walker; Hinojosa Smith; Carol Nevills; Prem Kumar; Matthew Hill).
The new prices will apply to plots sold on or after June 1, 2025, and staff said pre-need services will not be fully available until Oct. 1 under the amended operations plan. Staff also reported an existing wait list of residents that will be contacted before making lots available on the open market; council asked that staff include monitoring of resident vs. nonresident sales ratios in an ongoing report to council.
The council’s resolution amending the master fee schedule (Resolution No. 0.109960.3) was updated on the consent agenda to reflect the pricing change.
Council members and staff emphasized that the ordinance and fee schedule can be revisited and revised if market behavior or sales data suggest a change is needed.
