The Reminder is making its archives back to 2003 available on our website. Please note that, due to technical limitations, archive articles are presented without the usual formatting.
As expected, city council has drastically increased cemetery fees while ensuring non-residents who want to be buried in Flin Flon pay extra. At their meeting last week, council gave final reading to a policy amendment that raises all existing cemetery fees for the first time since 2000. The fees are now up 39 per cent _ three per cent for each year between 2000 and 2013 _ before factoring in compounding. Jonathon Naylor Editor Council has also established a new $200 fee for burials of nonresidents, excluding Creightonites. Creightonites will not pay extra because of an exi s t ing agr e ement whereby the Town of Creighton reimburses the city for burials of its citizens. With all of council present for the final reading of the amendment, the vote would have been unanimous if not for Coun. Skip Martin. He reiterated his opposition to the plan, believing that with cemetery space at a premium, the city should charge more for plots than for niches on a columbarium. Fees for a columbarium niche will now total $2,355 before taxes. A casket burial will carry fees of $1,515, a difference of $840. Since the cemetery fees had not increased since 2000, Coun. Tim Babcock said previously, the city was 'way far behind on the times and we had some catching up to do.' The intent now is for council to vote on raising the fees three per cent every year moving forward. The fees help maintain the cemeteries.
