Town council will be looking to amend the cemetery bylaw later this month after passing a resolution at the Jan. 24 meeting to direct administration to amend the definitions of resident and non-resident in the bylaw.
The matter was brought to council in order to give rural residents of Mountain View County the opportunity to pay the same rate on plots and burials as town residents, as part of the Memorandum of Agreement between the two municipalities. As part of the MOA, the town and county entered into an agreement for reciprocal business licences and aligning the cemetery fees is another step under the same guiding principle.
Currently, county residents pay anywhere from $0 to $600 more per burial plot in the town cemetery and $100 to $110 more for a grave opening and closing than town residents. County residents pay $137 per hour for weekday late fees on grave openings and closings while town residents pay $82 per hour for the same service. The rates have not changed since 2007.
Alignment of the rates for rural county residents and town residents would not apply to other urban municipalities within the county.
Coun. Mary Jane Harper said in the spirit of the MOA, she was all for allowing similar rates.
“This is just a great thing to move towards,” she said.
Barbara Hill, the town's community services director, said the town is planning on reviewing cemetery services next year, including rates.
“In 2012, we're going to do a business plan and review all the business practices and operations there, just to make sure that we are staying current with the best practices in cemetery operation,” she said, adding that the rate review will compare the current charges against actual costs for providing service.
Hill said among the considerations will be how to best use the land that is available to the town for the cemetery.
Overall, the review is designed to make sure the town is providing the best service it can to people under difficult circumstances.
“For the most part people come to us when they're in a very difficult time. We want to make sure that we are doing the best we can to get that service to them,” she said.
