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Council favors $150 administrative fee for monuments that enclose cremation urns
Summary
Staff proposed lowering the fee for monuments that contain cremation urns (no grave opening/closing) from $360 to $150 to cover administrative costs and open about 44 additional memorial spaces; councilors supported the $150 fee and suggested a periodic review mechanism.
The Committee of the Whole discussed a staff recommendation to charge a reduced administrative fee for monuments that enclose cremation urns without requiring full grave opening and closing.
The city clerk (Brian Rittenhouse) told council that inurnment monuments remove the need to dig a grave and that staff has been asked whether the current $360 fee should be waived or reduced. The clerk presented a staff recommendation of $150 to cover administrative costs while recognizing lower labor needs. He also said the city has about 44 spots currently unavailable for digging that could be sold if monuments with inurnment are permitted.
Councilmembers broadly supported the $150 fee. Alderson Johnson and Alderson McIntyre both said a $150 administrative fee made sense and suggested including a mechanism (an automatic periodic review or modest annual adjustment) so the fee keeps pace with costs. City staff noted the city's existing annual fee escalation program could be used to adjust fees in future years.
Council provided direction in favor of the $150 fee and asked staff to draft enabling ordinance language and to include a review mechanism.
