Residents press Bogalusa to boost cemetery upkeep as budget sets $5,000 allocation

Residents at the Bogalusa public hearing pressed city officials to increase resources for cemetery upkeep, describing damaged roads, trees uprooting plots and open graves in city-owned sections. Multiple speakers said volunteers and families cannot keep up with the scale of needed work and urged the city to restore a previously discontinued cemetery committee to coordinate repairs and volunteer efforts.

At the hearing Assistant Finance Director Mr. Weary explained prior-year and proposed allocations: "The public works budget originally 2024 was $10,000 appropriated for cemetery maintenance; at the end of the year only $2,250 was spent," he said, and confirmed that "2025's budget is $5,000 allocated to cemetery maintenance right now." Residents called that amount insufficient for clearing trees, repairing cemetery roads and addressing exposed or damaged graves.

Why it matters: families pay for plots (residents noted a $700 plot price paid at the meeting) while many city-owned sections remain overgrown and damaged. Speakers urged the council to consider moving more public-works resources or to prioritize cemetery work in the five-year capital plan; Mr. Weary said the five-year plan is where larger capital and maintenance priorities can be scheduled and suggested reconstituting a cemetery board or reallocating funds in future budgets.

Next steps: City staff said they would accept more detailed requests, can provide tours of the cemeteries for officials, and that the council would have another opportunity that evening to discuss the budget. Residents asked staff to pursue grants and to consider reallocating public-works capacity to cemetery maintenance.