Cemetery and Funeral Bureau reports shrinking fund balance after $525,000 legal cost; DCA to review options

The Cemetery and Funeral Bureau told its advisory committee on May 28 that its fund balance is declining and that department budget staff are reviewing options to address a structural imbalance between revenues and expenditures.

"We can see declining, fund balance reserve towards the bottom," said Matt Neshamini of the Department of Consumer Affairs (DCA) budget office during the bureau's fund-condition presentation. DCA staff said revenues are now lower than outlays and that inflationary pressures plus a one-time legal cost contributed to the shortfall.

The shortfall follows a prior fee increase adopted in 2022 that DCA said was projected at the time to sustain the bureau through the next sunset review. "That fee increase really the goal really truly was to hold us over till the next sunset review process," bureau chief Gina Chevarini Sanchez said. But Neshamini and bureau staff said unexpected costs and higher operating expenses have changed that projection.

Committee members asked whether another fee study or immediate increase is planned. "At this time, we're not entertaining a fee increase right now," Chevarini Sanchez said. DCA staff said they are "exploring all of our options" and will return with recommendations at a future advisory meeting.

Committee members and staff also discussed a legal cost that contributed to the drop in the fund balance. "525,000 was the settlement," said a committee participant who identified himself as Michael, clarifying that the amount reflected attorney fees and related costs tied to litigation, not a routine enforcement cost. Bureau officials said that sum appears in the fund-condition statements for the prior fiscal year and accounts for the more pronounced decline.

The bureau described some cost-saving steps taken previously, such as statutory changes that reduced the need for superior-court actions in certain revocation or suspension matters. But staff said the bureau had been operating with a structural imbalance for years and has "managed to just kinda kick the can," in staff words, and that the administration is now watching the fund balance closely.

The advisory committee did not take any formal action at the meeting. DCA budget staff said they will continue analysis of fund conditions and report back to the committee when they have specific proposals.

Ending: The bureau and DCA said they will monitor revenues and expenditures, consider possible savings, and notify the advisory committee and public before pursuing any legislative or fee actions.