Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Cemetery topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Budget committee reviews using perpetual-care interest for cemetery operations, flags future mausoleum planning
Summary
Officials debated a one-time transfer from Canby’s Cemetery Perpetual Care Fund to cover operations and whether the fund may pay for future mausoleum capacity; staff were asked for cost estimates and a conservative timeline for when current space will be exhausted.
Interim City Administrator Randy Healy told the Budget Committee the city’s Zion Cemetery holds about 6,996 interments and roughly 15 years of available burial space at current sale rates. Healy said the cemetery fee structure routes 60% of plot sales into a perpetual-care fund that now holds about $1.5 million, and staff are proposing to transfer $38,350 from that fund this fiscal year to cover materials and services for cemetery operations.
“Per chapter 12, the perpetual care fund allows for operation or for maintenance,” Healy said, describing the staff recommendation to allow a limited transfer to cover current work by grounds crews. He also noted staff have not yet confirmed whether the fund’s rules permit capital spending on a new mausoleum and that the legal interpretation would have to be confirmed.
Public Works Superintendent Spencer Pollock said the cemetery has space mapped for expansion and that a future mausoleum or niche wall could conserve ground space; he cautioned that the existing mausoleum is beginning to near capacity. Councilors asked for a conservative reassessment of how quickly the mausoleum niches will fill and requested cost estimates to build an additional mausoleum or niche wall so the council can identify whether to begin setting aside reserves.
Several members—most prominently Councilor Jason Patton—urged caution about drawing from the perpetual-care fund. Patton warned that while a modest transfer this year might be tolerable, drawing the fund down over time could leave future generations without adequate maintenance funding. Healy replied that staff will prepare a clearer projection showing long-term reserve impacts and legal guidance on allowable expenditures from the perpetual-care fund.
What’s next: staff will return with a short memo with (1) the legal interpretation of allowable uses for the perpetual-care fund, (2) cost estimates and timeline options for additional mausoleum capacity or niche walls, and (3) a projection of the fund’s longevity under the proposed transfer. The committee did not adopt a final policy change during this meeting.
