HOULTON, Maine — Town councilors in Houlton opted Monday evening to raise the cost of digging graves for cremated remains at the town’s cemeteries, two weeks after they tabled a discussion about the matter.
During the meeting, the council held a public hearing in order to amend the town codes to include an increase in the so-called opening grave fees for cremated remains.
In July of 2013, councilors approved increases to cemetery fees, which 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 officials were looking to fix.
As approved Monday night, the opening grave fee for cremated remains has increased from $75 to $125 during the week and from $125 to $175 on weekends and holidays.
Two weeks ago, Orient resident Richard Rhoda, a lawyer who maintains a practice in Houlton, questioned why the increase was necessary.
On Monday evening, Asselin reiterated the fee Houlton charges is in line with other towns and funeral establishments.
Councilor Sue Tortello said she, too, checked rates in other towns and agreed.
Milton Cone, the town’s fire chief and cemetery superintendent, said there is more behind the fee than just digging the hole. He said that after a person dies, he must conduct research to find out whether they own a lot in the cemetery. If they do, he must determine what size the lot is, as well as address other matters. He said it usually takes two men about 15 minutes to dig a hole for burial.
He added the town was looking to raise the fee because of the increased cost of labor for workers, who sometimes need to sit and wait in excess of two hours for a family to leave a cemetery after a graveside service. He said the crew sometimes has been called in after hours during their day off.
In the end, councilors voted 5-0 to raise the fee.