Hooper City Council updates fees; cemetery plot price increase for residents delayed to Oct. 1, 2026

Hooper City Council voted to adopt updates to the city fee schedule, making most changes effective July 1, 2026 while delaying resident cemetery plot purchase price increases until Oct. 1, 2026 to give homeowners advance notice.

Mayor Sherry Bingham and staff discussed keeping a voluntary senior-lunch donation line item in the schedule and the mechanics of notifying residents about cemetery fee changes. Staff reported the city will prepare and mail postcards that describe the approved increases and that a newsletter or utility bill mailer will also provide notice. Council members debated how much advance notice was appropriate and settled on Oct. 1 for cemetery plot purchases for residents; utility-rate changes were set to take effect July 1.

Council Member Hill moved to approve the fee schedule updates with the July 1 effective date for utility fees and an Oct. 1, 2026 effective date for cemetery plot purchases by Hooper City residents; Council Member Fowers seconded. The motion carried and the transcript records one dissenting vote by a council member during the vote sequence.

City staff said the fee adjustments largely pass through increases the city received from outside providers and that the council also added targeted exemptions (for example extending certain breaks to veterans and families with small children). The council directed staff to proceed with the postcard notification and to make the cemetery effective-date distinction clear in final motions and public materials.