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San Diego supervisors deny Ramona Public Cemetery board expansion request
Summary
The Board of Supervisors voted unanimously to deny a resolution asking that the Ramona Public Cemetery District expand its board from three to five trustees, with supervisors urging consideration of a merger with the local water district instead.
The San Diego County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously July 22 to deny a resolution that would have expanded the Ramona Public Cemetery District’s board of trustees from three members to five.
Supervisor Joel Anderson, who introduced the background on the item, urged the board to reject the request and recommended pursuing a merger with the local water district. Anderson said the district is very small, noting it has about four employees and a budget of roughly $400,000, and that "having a board member for every employee seemed a little excessive to me." He added the previous board had authorized health benefits for itself, which contributed to county concerns about governance.
Anderson told the board that comparable cemetery districts in the county operate effectively with three trustees and that state law allows districts to be governed by either a three- or five-member board. He said the county should encourage discussions with the Local Agency Formation Commission (LAFCO) about a potential consolidation with the water district to gain economies of scale for groundskeeping and equipment.
Public comment included nine requests to speak (three in person, six by phone) and one emailed comment in support. Speakers expressed a mix of skepticism, personal concerns and local commentary about the district and those advocating for the expansion. Comments ranged from questions about the district’s need for additional trustees to broader unrelated complaints about county practices; none of the in-person public commenters identified specific governance proposals that materially altered the board’s analysis.
After public comment and board discussion, Chair Tara Lawson Reimer seconded Supervisor Anderson’s motion to deny the resolution. The motion carried unanimously with all supervisors present and voting in favor.
The board’s denial leaves the Ramona Public Cemetery District as a three-member board. Anderson and others urged the district and the community to examine a potential consolidation with the nearby water district through the LAFCO process, which Anderson said could yield cost savings for operations, legal services and equipment procurement.
The board did not adopt changes to policy or governance for other cemetery districts at the meeting; the action was limited to denying the specific expansion request from the Ramona Public Cemetery District.
