HOULTON, Maine — A proposed increase to fees the town charges for burying cremated remains has some members of the Houlton Town Council uneasy.
At Monday night’s council meeting several councilors expressed apprehension to the proposal that would raise the rate for burying cremated remains and requested justification for the hike. Currently, the town charges $75 for cremated remains, but under the new proposal that fee is going to be raised to $125. The weekend/holiday fee is also set to increase from $125 to $175.
Milton Cone, the town’s cemetery director, was unable to attend Monday night’s meeting.
Back on July 29, 2013, the council approved increases to cemetery fees that included raising the rate for opening a traditional gravesite from $300 to $425. In addition, a weekend/holiday fee was approved at $475, while the rate for an infant grave was raised from $45 to $75. The weekend/holiday fee for infants is $125. An infant is considered any child from birth to 6 months of age.
At that time, cremated remains were not included in the price restructuring. That omission was an oversight according to Houlton Town Manager Butch Asselin.
“The rates that we are proposing are the same as what St. Mary’s charges,” Asselin said. “We also checked around and if we make this change, our rates will be comparable with what other towns charge.”
He added most other communities do not have a weekend/holiday fee.
Council chairman Paul Cleary said he had spoken to several funeral directors, who told him that cremated remains require an 18-inch by 18-inch plot.
“I don’t see the reason for doing this (increase),” he said. “I have also, during the week thanks to the Houlton Pioneer Times article, had about eight phone calls from people that are against this. I guess I just don’t understand the reason. If the only reason is because we missed it a year ago, or because other towns charge this, we don’t need to follow in those footsteps.”
Cleary added he felt the current $75 regular and $125 weekend/holiday fees were sufficient, unless there was evidence that showed that amount did not cover expenses.
“If we need revenue, the worst place is off the backs of the deceased,” he said.
Houlton attorney Richard Rhoda, who is a resident of Orient but owns property in Houlton, spoke against the rate hike, calling it an “excessive” fee for digging such a small hole.
“This increase is excessive,” Rhoda said. “I question whether it is really needed. How long does it take to dig a hole that is two feet deep?”
He suggested the ordinance could be amended in the future to allow individuals to dig their own holes, thus saving on some of the expense a person incurs for a burial.
Rhoda also stated, as a member of the Houlton Masons, he was looking into the possibility of creating an area at the cemetery where underprivileged individuals could be buried in a shared, common area. He stated he had spoken to Houlton’s previous town manager, Eugene Conlogue, about this concept and that the former town manager was receptive to the idea.
The article was tabled until the next regular meeting, slated for Monday, Sept. 22 at 6 p.m.
