This proposed revision of the cemetery regulations, Billings Montana City Code Section 8-333, allows the cremated remains of a qualifying veteran to be placed in the veteran columbarium or buried in a veteran memorial grave in the City of Billings Mountview Cemetery. City Council directed staff to review this ordinance and the Parks, Recreation and Cemetery Board recommends that the City Council approve these changes to the city code.

The City Council may approve or disapprove the ordinance. 

The overall financial impact to the City of Billings is minimal.  The fees associated with burying a cremated veteran in a veteran grave are slightly higher than placing those same cremains in the veteran columbarium.

When the City came to the conclusion that there were more qualifying veterans wanting to be in the City of Billings Mountview than the City had space for, the City erected two columbaria in Section 14 Veteran dedicated area.  With cremation becoming a common disposition and many of the qualifying veterans cremated, the City decided to require cremated veterans be placed in one of the veteran columbarium.

When the people of Yellowstone County voted to pay for the creation of a veteran cemetery and the County built it, the need for veteran space in Mountview  was no longer an issue.  Now that the Yellowstone County Veteran Cemetery is scheduled to be transferred to the VA, conserving space in the Veteran Area of Section 14 isn't necessary.

This revision of Sec. 8-333 will allow the families of cremated qualifying veterans who want to be in the dedicated veteran area to chose either to be placed in a columbarium or buried in a dedicated veteran grave.

City Council directed staff to review the ordinance regarding the Mountview veteran plot and the Parks, Recreation and Cemetery Board recommends that the City Council approves the revision of Sec. 8-333.