Should we share cemetery costs?

cemetery costs should be included in rates, rather than a charge on individuals.

The cost of purchasing a plot, interments and ongoing maintenance of cemeteries was currently 70 per cent ratepayer funded, with users contributing 30 per cent of the cost.

Council had proposed to shift the funding structure to 50 per cent ratepayer, 50 per cent user.

Robb said she felt a lot of retirees would not be able to pay the proposed costs for burial.

She said people were already ‘‘talking alternatives’’ to burials, such as cremation, in order to avoid the extra costs.

‘‘Their benefits haven’t gone up . . . that’s a big sum to find if they haven’t already put it aside,’’ she said.

The council was using the cemetery review to look at decreasing general rates by 0.2 per cent, amounting to $138,000 per year.

Geoffrey T Sowman Funeral Directors manager Barry Holmwood said the pricing restructure would make Marlborough cemetery fees the highest in the top of the south. ‘‘It’s quite a huge increase that you are proposing,’’ he said at Monday’s hearing.

Holmwood suggested a gradual increase over five years rather than a ‘‘sharp increase’’.

Cloudy Bay Funeral Services funeral director David Buckley said in other areas of the country where cemetery fees increased significantly, the ratio of cremations over burials increased. ‘‘We want to be able to give people the choice that they deserve, but it’s becoming much harder when it’s based around cost.’’

A decision on cemetery fees will be made at full council on May 16.