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Brookside Cemetery director says indigent burial reimbursements fall short; committee tables rate resolution
Summary
Philip Moses, director of the Brookside Cemetery Association, told the Jefferson County Health & Human Services Committee that cemetery reimbursements for indigent burials do not cover costs; the committee voted to table a related rate resolution so cemetery rates can be reconsidered.
Philip Moses, director of the Brookside Cemetery Association, told the committee at its June 30 meeting that Brookside has performed 73 indigent burials (including cremations) so far in 2026 and that the costs for burying an indigent person "far outweigh the reimbursement" the cemetery receives from the Department of Social Services. Moses asked the county to review and increase cemetery-specific rates so those operations can continue to serve indigent residents.
Chairman Anthony Doldo noted the indigent-burial resolution on the agenda adjusted funeral-home rates but did not change cemetery reimbursement levels. Legislator Karen Freeman moved, and Legislator Tina Bartlett-Bearup seconded, to lay the resolution on the table so cemetery rates could be considered; the motion was unanimously carried. The committee did not take further action on the rate-setting question at the meeting and tabled the item for additional review.
