Fees charged at ÎÚÑ»´«Ã½'s city-owned cemetery are set to rise 15% over the next three years.
A five percent annual lift in fees is needed to ensure the cemetery continues to be self-financing and not receive any subsidies, city officials say.
Under the proposed increases, expected to be approved Monday by city council, the cost of an in-ground cremation plot will rise from $826 to $956 by 2024.
Three years ago, the cost was $714.
A five percent annual increase to cemetery fees was suggested in a 2015 master plan for the graveyard, for a 50% rise over a decade. After 2026, the aim is to have annual fee hikes of only two percent.
Between 2005 and 2015, the cemetery ran an annual operating deficit of $70,000.
The long-range plan for fee hikes was intended to address that deficit and also provide sufficient funds to maintain the 52-acre cemetery in perpetuity after it runs out of room for new burials, a development expected to occur in about 20 years based on current trends.