Board waives late fees for Elmwood Cemetery after owner cites oversight
Loading...
Summary
After hearing from a representative and the owner, the Hammond Board waived late-business-license late fees for Elmwood Cemetery and urged the owner to put an auto-pay plan in place to prevent future lapses.
The Hammond City Board of Public Works and Safety on Oct. 23 agreed to waive late fees assessed to Elmwood Cemetery after a board-appointed representative and the cemetery’s owner described the lapse as an oversight.
Board members heard from a representative who said Elmwood Cemetery has been operated by the family for decades and from owner Michael (present at the hearing), who said an effort to pay in 2022 was returned by staff and the payment was not re-submitted. "It really was simply an oversight," the representative said. The owner described a returned check and administrative confusion that led to the lapse.
Staff confirmed that the cemetery had paid the business-license fees for the years in question but still owed late fees for 2023–2026; staff recommended waiving those late fees. A board member moved to waive the late fees and the chair concurred. The board approved the waiver on the record and asked the owner to set up safeguards to prevent recurrence; the owner said he would place the license payment on autopay.
The board did not impose further penalties and closed the item. The owner thanked the board and said he and his family were "very happy to be citizens of this great city of Hammond."
