Cemetery district asks for support in mill levy request

The Hill County Public Cemetery District is asking the residents of Hill County to increase funding to maintain the nine cemeteries in the district by requesting a mill levy increase on the ballot in November. The Cemetery District currently cares for and maintains nine cemeteries located within Hill county. This includes all aspects of landscaping care for cemeteries as far away as Inverness to the west, Spring Coulee to the north, and Box Elder to the south. The district relies heavily upon tax dollars to maintain its operating budget.

The mill levy increase on the November ballot is considered the most equitable and fair way to fund the maintenance of the cemeteries, and remains the only viable option to increase revenues for maintaining the community’s cemeteries besides additional increases in fees. Additional fee increases are not preferred, would substantially affect a handful of residents, and would provide only a portion of necessary revenues. Due to this year’s budget shortfall, the Cemetery Board sought two measures that brought temporary relief and were not a permanent solution. The board elected to sell property the district owned within the county and to withdraw funds from a care fund that existed to provide funds for cemetery operation but cannot sustain budget shortfalls.

We try very hard to keep our cemeteries in good condition, mowed and attractive, for our community members and veterans. The Cemetery District once operated with 4 mills when the state Legislature adopted an act to allow for the raising of mills for cemeteries in 1977. This was later repealed and the cemetery has been operating with just over 2 mills since. Costs of keeping the cemetery beautiful and maintained have outpaced the district’s revenue.

Most of the district’s revenue comes from performing burials and the sale of plots. There is a national trend toward interring cremated remains. This trend is understandable from an economical point of view. Families have turned to cremation as a practical and cost-effective way to care for a loved one’s remains. Choosing to cremate as opposed to a full burial will cost the family of a loved one less and has a lesser impact with a sudden loss of a loved one.

However, this trend has an impact on cemetery revenues, while the cost of maintaining the cemetery will continue to grow as it expands to accommodate more burials, revenue continues to fall.

When families choose to inter cremated remains they don’t necessarily have to purchase a plot. Choosing rather to bury their loved ones together or in an existing grave of a previously passed family member, forgoing purchasing a plot or simply deciding not to inter at all. Researching cemetery records for the past 16 years starting in 2001, cremations as a percentage of burials was near 40 percent. It steadily rose to just over 60 percent in 2015. Currently cremations make up 60 percent of burials for calendar year 2016 as of Aug. 31. Our highest year, 2011, saw 72 percent of all burials being cremations.

The cemetery currently has two full-time employees who work year-round and up to three seasonal employees working during the summer months. The manager handles all aspects of the cemetery including any clerical, budgeting, payroll, records maintenance, as well as the day to day operations. The Cemetery Board consists of three volunteer members representing Havre and the surrounding communities in Hill County. They play an integral role in how the cemeteries are managed and operated.

Most of the equipment at the cemetery is between 20 and 40 years old. Quite possibly the most vital piece of equipment in the cemetery, sadly, is also its oldest. Our backhoe is pushing 39 years old and it’s just a matter of time before is suffers a fatal breakdown. Besides the aging equipment creating expense; probably the single largest expenditure for the cemetery is the water bill. We currently have our irrigation system pulling water from the city and in order to keep the cemetery green it takes a lot of water and subsequently, money. The cemetery ranks at or near the top for water consumption that is provided by the city of Havre. Again, this is a cost that will only increase as the cemetery expands to accommodate more plots and burials.

The Cemetery Board is asking for a 3 mill increase of the nearly 3 mills the cemetery is currently receiving in tax dollars. If the mill levy passes this November, Hill County residents can expect to pay $4.05 for a home with $100,000 taxable value and $8.10 for a home with $200,000 taxable value. We hope that residents of Hill County can understand the need for conferring the request upon the Hill County Public Cemetery District. It’s our hope that we can maintain the cemeteries for those loved ones and ancestors who are interred in our cemeteries for now and the future and peace of mind.

Thank you.

Hill County Public Cemetery District

Tony Reum, chairman

Kathy Doney, board member

Joyce Preeshl, board member

Merrill A. Gray, manager