BY KEVIN ALDRIDGE
The Cincinnati Enquirer
DEERFIELD TOWNSHIP -- The cost of dying is going up for some Warren County residents.
Deerfield Township trustees, who maintain Rose Hill Cemetery on Mason-Montgomery Road, agreed this week to raise burial fees. The cemetery now will charge $350 per grave for residents. It will cost $700 for non-residents.
Other price changes include:
An increase on concrete foundation fees from 30 cents per square inch to 40 cents.
Weekday burial service fees from $300 to $400.
Saturday fees from $400 to $600 and Sunday and holiday fees from $600 to $800.
"Rose Hill is without question the premier cemetery in Warren County," Trustee Tom Raga said. "It is a first-class cemetery and should be treated as such. We shouldn't sell ourselves short by continuing with these lower prices."
The 34-acre Rose Hill is one of Warren County's oldest and largest cemeteries. It opened in 1868.
Citing continual revenue losses at the cemetery as the major reason for the change, trustees said raising fees was unavoidable. "We knew two years ago we were going to have to raise rates to make the cemetery economically viable," Trustee President Larry Backus said.
Rose Hill's operating costs for this year are projected at $178,800, according to cemetery records.
Projected revenues are $108,500 from foundations, grave services and sales, leaving the township with a $70,300 shortfall.
"The cemetery has been operating at a significant deficit for years," Mr. Raga said. "I don't think the trustees want to make a profit on the cemetery by any stretch, but this will move us closer to breaking even."
Mason residents will also have to shoulder the higher $700 non-resident fee. Until two weeks ago, Mason and township residents paid the same $200 resident fee.
Trustees voted last month to remove a temporary moratorium on non-resident plot purchases and charge all those living outside the township -- including Mason residents -- more expensive non-resident fees. The decision came after Mason City Council rejected a "good faith" offer that could have spared their residents from paying the higher fee.
Trustees again considered an alternative that would have included a third pricing category for Mason residents, but elected not to. "We all recognized the option for Mason residents, but I think it's best if we just keep things simple with a two-tier approach," Trustee Bill Morand said.
Cemetery Sexton Carl Muennich said he anticipates the price hike will slow down grave sales for a few months. He said he expects the number of Mason residents who buy graves to drop by almost half. Mr. Muennich said other cemeteries in the area charge an average of $250 to $1,000 for graves.
