Roosevelt City Council approves higher cemetery fees after public hearing

Roosevelt City Council members voted to raise cemetery fees following a public hearing that included support and caution from local mortuary representatives.

Council held a public hearing after Austin Babcock, cemetery manager, presented proposed resident and nonresident price increases and said the city had not updated fees in several years. "We kind of came up with these numbers ... based off of some a fee comparison that I did from kind of some random things around the state," Babcock said. He added the fee increase would not fully pay for planned cemetery expansion, saying, "I don't think it would have exactly paid for that."

The nut of the discussion was whether higher fees are reasonable and how much of the cemetery expansion cost the new rates could cover. Two local mortuary representatives spoke during public comment. Tammy, who identified herself with a local mortuary, told council the proposed prices were "very reasonable" for a city of Roosevelt's size. Tyler Powell, who identified himself as a Roosevelt resident employed at Home Depot Mortuary, cautioned councils that cemeteries typically do not generate net profit: "Cemeteries ... are black holes financially, and they are a public service and a social service pretty much." Powell said he had compared Roosevelt's proposed nonresident price to neighboring county pricing.

Council members noted the last fee increase was in February 2018. Council discussion included whether the city could seek county subsidy or other support for expansion; staff described attempts to reconcile county and city responsibilities as "complicated." Council moved to approve the cemetery fee changes proposed by Austin Babcock; the motion passed. Staff said the new fees would be added to the city fee schedule and begin appearing on the city website; officials advised the new rates would start being charged within days and recommended allowing a short administrative lead time of a week or two to post and notify the public.

Council action: the council approved the cemetery fee schedule changes presented by the cemetery manager. No statutory citations were introduced during the hearing.

The fee change is intended to help fund cemetery operations and part of an expansion plan; staff and mortuary speakers cautioned it will not fully underwrite land purchase or construction costs.