Ephrata raises cemetery rates

EPHRATA — Ephrata increased rates and established non-resident rates for its cemetery.

The city council unanimously approved the increase at a recent city council meeting.

The last time the city looked at the rates for its cemetery was 1998, City Administrator Wes Crago said, adding the city has supplemented the cemetery’s budget with about $80,000 from the current expense fund for the last six years.

“That’s obviously not a sustainable way to do business in a fund that charges for its services,” he said. “With the current fiscal situation, we needed to take a look at that. Our cemetery has been dramatically low.”

People from outside of the city are drawn to the low prices, Crago said. The new rates won’t completely eliminate the need for the budget to be subsidized from other areas. Estimates put the revenue increase between $10,000 to $22,000.

“It’s also hard to predict revenue in a cemetery fund because obviously it’s based on use and services,” he said.

Previously, the city charged $615 for an infant burial, $890 for an adult casket burial, $650 for cremated remains burial and $465 for a spot in the columbarium, according to the ordinance.

The city increased the rates for residents to $825 for an infant burial, $1,450 for an adult casket burial, $900 for cremated remains burial and $650 for a columbarium spot, according to the ordinance.

Non-residents will need to pay $1,110 for an infant burial, $2,010 for an adult casket burial, $1,215 to bury cremated remains and $880 for a spot in the columbarium, according to the ordinance.

Since residents pay the property taxes, which fund the cemetery, they should get lower rates, Crago said.