This proposed revision of the cemetery regulations, BMCC Chapter 8-302, 8-331, 8-332 & 8-334, increases the amount of the perpetual care funding to 35%, adds wording to the ordinances pertaining to baby grave markers, specifies what is provided at a burial service and clarifies the late overtime burial fee. The Parks, Recreation and Cemetery Board recommends that the City Council approve these changes to the city code.  The City Council approved the ordinance on first reading at its March 12, 2012 meeting.  This is the second and final reading of the ordinance.

The City Council may approve or disapprove the ordinance. Since the ordinance makes the city code consistent with Resolution 11-19034 and improves other areas of the code, the Council's disapproval would retain the present conflict with the resolution and not make the other minor improvements to the code.

The overall financial impact to the City of Billings is minimal. Changing the amount of the Perpetual Care from 30% to 35% increases the Perpetual Care Fund just a few dollars per transaction.

When the Parks, Recreation and Cemetery Board reviewed the cemetery fee schedule last year, they chose to address the amount that is taken out of the sale of a grave or niche and added to the Perpetual Care Fund. The interest from this fund can be used for annual operating costs but the principal is preserved for cemetery care when all graves are sold. The Board thinks that it is important to increase that fund, which has the accompanying benefit of increasing the amount of annual interest that is available for operations.

The current code does not contain rules for the Baby Section but cemetery guidelines have been in place since the 1920's. As cremations became more popular and the City changed the number of people that can be buried in a grave, baby graves have become an issue. Baby graves are considerably smaller, the number of companies setting headstones has increased and some of those companies do not follow stone setting guidelines. Adding Section 8-331 (e) places restrictions on the size and method for setting these headstones.

The addition of Section 8-332 (h) codifies a longstanding cemetery guideline. The original cemetery on the site had no regulations and families could erect anything on the graves. The cemetery personnel didn't maintain the grounds, so obstructions placed on or around graves didn't cause maintenance problems. Once the City gained ownership, it established guidelines that prohibit enclosures and hard surface installations. The guideline is generally followed but is occasionally challenged. The new code provision allows cemetery personnel to enforce the restriction.
 
The last time the Council approved cemetery fees, it directed that chairs should be provided by the City at burials. New Section 8-334 (g) adds chairs to the normal burial setup. Subsection (h) addresses the Cemetery Board's desire to accommodate the public with a longer burial period on Saturdays and an easier to understand late overtime fee schedule.

This revision of Section 8 of the Billings City Code brings the Code in compliance with the Resolution 11-19034 that was passed last fiscal year as it pertains to the 35% for the Perpetual Care Fund, extending the time for Saturday burials and streamlining the late overtime charge.