HOULTON, Maine — Town councilors in Houlton on Monday evening tabled a discussion about increasing the cost of digging graves for cremated remains at the town’s cemeteries after a local man came forward and expressed outrage.
Several councilors said they agreed with Richard Rhoda, an Orient resident who also is a lawyer who maintains a law practice in Houlton.
During the meeting, the council was holding a public hearing in order to amend the town codes to include an increase in the opening grave fee schedule for cremated remains.
In July 2013, the council approved increases to cemetery fees that included raising the rate for opening a traditional casket grave site from $300 to $425. But they overlooked including a fee hike for cremated remains in the price restructuring, which Houlton Town Manager Butch Asselin said Monday evening that officials were looking to fix.
As proposed, the opening grave fee for cremated remains would increase from $75 to $125 during the week, and from $125 to $175 on weekends and holidays.
“I lost my son last September,” Rhoda, whose son was cremated, told the council on Monday. “And they didn’t have to go down more than 2 feet [for burial.] This increase is excessive. How long does it take to fill a hole?”
Asselin said he had done some research and the fees that Houlton was proposing were comparable to other rates charged by other towns, cities and funeral establishments.
According to information provided by the city of Bangor on Wednesday, the opening grave fee is $125 for cremated remains on a weekday and $175 on the weekends. There are four municipal cemeteries located in Bangor. Pine Grove, Oak Grove and Maple Grove cemeteries are maintained and managed by the Bangor Public Works Department. Mount Hope Cemetery Corp. maintains the city section of Mount Hope Cemetery on a contractual basis, according to the city’s website.
In Portland, which has two active cemeteries managed by the city, Evergreen and Forest City, the cost is much higher. The opening grave fee is $420 for residents and $505 for nonresidents for cremated remains.
Council Chairman Paul Cleary said that after the proposal to raise the rates was publicized in the local weekly newspaper, he received about eight telephone calls opposing the idea.
“Its tough when you lose someone,” he said. “We can find a revenue source somewhere else.”
Councilor Wade Hanson said that he needed more information to see if opening grave fees were a large source of revenue for the cemetery department.
The matter was tabled until the group’s next meeting on Sept. 22.