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Board postpones cemetery burial GPS ordinance for redrafting after sheriff’s concerns
Summary
Ordinance 2023-02, which would require county-recorded GPS locations for private burial sites, was postponed so counsel can rework numbering and clarify language after Sheriff Torgerson raised law-enforcement and long-term-location concerns.
The board postponed Ordinance 2023-02, an amendment to Chapter 14 (Cemeteries and Burials) that would require the county to determine and record GPS locations for private burials. Sheriff Torgerson explained his concern that, without accurate recorded locations, future excavations could lead to unnecessary law-enforcement investigations; he said GPS recording would prevent wasting investigative resources on legitimate private burials. Corp Counsel asked for changes to the ordinance’s numbering and language for clarity, and the board voted to postpone the matter pending redrafting.
The sheriff said he is not objecting to private burials themselves but seeks a reliable, long-term method to identify those sites so future excavations are not mistaken for criminal activity. The postponement gives county staff and counsel time to revise the ordinance language and numbering before it returns to committee or the full board.
