City implements cemetery fee increases approved by City Council; Board of Works approves internment cost schedule

The Valparaiso Board of Works approved a recommended update to cemetery internment fees following a City Council ordinance to update municipal code on city cemeteries.

City staff member Holly told the board the council had approved an ordinance updating the municipal code for city cemeteries; she said the city last updated cemetery fees in 2006. Holly said the City Council increased burial-plot and internment costs, and she presented the Board of Works with the recommended internment costs for approval. Holly said, "the council increased the grave cost... 900 for the standard and 500 for the cremation," and that the new schedule still places Valparaiso "on the lower end" compared with nearby cemeteries after staff checked local comparables.

Board action: a motion to adopt the internment-cost schedule as presented passed unanimously. The Board of Works' action implements the fee schedule derived from the council ordinance and places the new internment costs on the city fee schedule under the cemetery code.

The board record reflects that the ordinance amending the municipal code passed at City Council and that the board's role at this meeting was to approve the operational internment cost schedule consistent with that ordinance. Staff indicated the updated schedule is competitive in the region; specific comparative cemetery names and fees were described as part of staff's investigatory work but were not read into the record at length during the meeting.

Next steps: staff will publish the updated fee schedule and apply it to cemetery sales and interments going forward in accordance with the amended municipal code.