Wright City is proposing significant changes to fees for lots and services at the city cemetery on Elm Street. City officials say the changes are needed to close a funding gap at the cemetery.

“The objective is to help meet the financial needs, to provide services for the maintenance of the cemetery,” said Mayor Dan Rowden. “We are currently spending a lot more money on cemetery maintenance than what we are bringing in, and we are trying to offset some of those costs.”

The changes would also add or increase certain fees for services provided by city staff. Rowden said a decision on the revised cemetery fees has been postponed until after city aldermen meet with Cemetery Memorial Society members during an open meeting Feb. 3.

“We will allow (memorial society members) to give their input and raise any questions they have, so we can address those and come to a good conclusion,” Rowden said.

The biggest proposed changes are to what people would pay to buy a lot at the cemetery and what they pay for perpetual maintenance. One cost would go up, while the other cost would go down.

Purchasing grave sites at the Wright City Cemetery currently costs $100 per grave for city residents. The proposed changes would increase that to $400 per grave.

Meanwhile, city residents currently pay $200 per grave to support the cemetery’s perpetual care fund. That fee would drop to $25 per grave under the proposed changes.

The balance of those fee changes would be an increase of $125 per grave.

The perpetual care fund is an investment account, which generates interest revenue that the city uses for ongoing cemetery maintenance. The principle funds in the account cannot be spent, Rowden explained. 

Rowden said the city would like to rebalance fee payments so more funds are immediately usable for work being done at the cemetery.

Other cemetery fee changes proposed by the city include an increase in the cost to open and close graves, as well as a new fee for the installation of grave stones.

Cemetery Memorial Society President Shirley Ross said she understands why the city wants to increase fees, but that it seems like a big jump in prices. The memorial society helps raise funding for projects and maintenance at the cemetery.

“There are many things to be done in the cemetery to keep it up. The mowing is a big expense,” Ross commented. She said interest-based funding doesn’t pay for as much as it once did.